ST. PAUL, Minn. – A second-half scoring barrage lifted the Luther College Women's Basketball team to a come-from-behind road win over the University of Northwestern on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles led by five at the half, and by as many as 10 in the third quarter, but the Norse turned it on late and out-scored UNW 37-23 in the second half to take a 65-56 win back to Iowa.
Back-to-back three-pointers from veterans
Carli Mattes (Lindstrom, Minn./Spectrum) and
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) sparked a 13-0 Northwestern run that gave the hosts a 15-5 advantage. The margin reached 11 after threes from
Lauren Grimm (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) and
Ava Gavi (Parker, Colo./Legend), but Luther was quickly able to chip into it, rattling off eight-straight points to make the score 18-15. The Norse closed the period on a 4-0 run to take a 20-19 lead.
The Eagles dominated most of the second quarter, getting six points apiece from Gavi and
Joanna Talso (Ramsey, Minn./Elk River) to stretch the lead to 11 with 3:24 to go before halftime. From that point until the halftime buzzer, Luther scored the final six points to shrink the deficit to 33-28 at the break.
UNW appeared poised to pull away after a strong start to the third quarter extended the lead back to 10, but a 10-2 run for the Norse suddenly made it a two-point game at 41-39. Talso did her best to keep the Eagles ahead with four points, but a last-minute layup for Luther made it 47-46 in favor of Northwestern, heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Norse kept the momentum into the fourth quarter, getting a conventional three-point play to open the frame.
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy) answered with a layup, and the two teams began a back-and-forth affair. Luther was able to gain some separation on a three-pointer with 4:20 remaining, and the Eagles were never able to get closer than five points the rest of the way, resulting in a 65-56 win for the Norse.
Talso paced the Eagles with 14 points on 6-8 shooting off the bench, adding five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Mattes finished with 12 points, while Gavi chipped in 11 points, two assists and two steals. Schmitter pulled down a game-high 10 boards, and
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) dished out four assists.
UNW will travel to Hamline on Wednesday, November 18
th, for a 7:30 PM tip.
