ST. PAUL, Minn. - While six of the 10 players who saw action were returners, it sure felt like a brand-new University of Northwestern Women's Basketball team took the Ericksen Center floor on Saturday. Coming off a 6-18 season, Northwestern brought in reinforcements to supplement a more-experienced returning core, and the early returns are positive. Even playing without starting point guard
Ella Frazier (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi), the Eagles were still able to win their season opener, 68-59, over Macalester College, thanks to a dominant fourth quarter, and a combined 43 points from underclassmen
Joanna Talso (Ramsey, Minn./Elk River) and
Lydia Schmitter (Eagan, Minn./United Christian Academy).
Macalester scored the first five points of the game, but newcomer
Lucie Habas (Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake) got UNW on the board with a three-pointer. When Talso checked in for the first time off the bench, just over four minutes into the game, the momentum boost was felt immediately. The freshman forward scored six quick points as part of a 9-1 run to give the hosts a 12-9 lead. Fellow frosh
Lauren Grimm (Mayer, Minn./Watertown-Mayer) added a layup moments later, and sophomore transfer
Ava Gavi (Parker, Colo./Legend) splashed a three in the closing seconds to give Northwestern a 17-15 edge at the end of the first quarter.
The Eagles began the second period on an 8-0 run, led by six-consecutive points from Schmitter--the sophomore's first of the season. Habas added another triple, but the Scots were able to close the gap. Talso scored four more points in the final 1:22 as UNW took a 32-29 lead into the half, where UNW Women's Basketball alum Annika Dykstra was honored by the American Red Cross for saving a man's life in her gym. The survivor and his family took part in the ceremony as well, in which Dykstra was given an award and a challenge coin.
Back on the court, Schmitter came out of the locker room on fire, scoring Northwestern's first six points to extend the lead to seven at 38-31. MAC scored the next seven to tie it, causing the Eagles to turn to Talso, who made two more driving layups. Gavi kissed a floater off the glass with 1:06 left in the third to tie the game at 46, but the Scots answered on the other end and took a 48-46 lead with one quarter to go.
Macalester's lead grew to four after a pair of free throws to open the final stanza, but UNW would soon take a 53-52 lead after a Talso layup and five points from Schmitter. Grimm joined the scoring with five points to push the lead to five with 2:45 remaining, and an 11-2 run ignited the Ericksen Center crowd as Schmitter found Talso in transition to put Northwestern in front, 66-57. A pair of Schmitter free throws in the closing seconds closed out the 68-59 win to give the Eagles a 1-0 start to
Aaron Kahl's 17th season at the helm.
Talso was outstanding off the bench, leading all scorers with 22 points on 9-11 shooting, adding four steals and three assists. Schmitter was efficient herself in 25 minutes, scoring 21 points on 7-12 shooting with six rebounds and three steals. Grimm finished with seven points and four boards off the bench, while
Marin Blom (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) pulled down eight rebounds and dished out four assists from the point guard position. As a team, UNW shot 51% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range.
The Eagles will travel to St. Olaf on Wednesday, November 11th. Tip-off in Northfield is scheduled for 7:00 PM, and the game can be found on the UMAC Sports Network.
