Crossroads College was held scoreless for the first 5 minutes of the game, allowing the Eagles to go a head by a score of 12-2. Northwestern owned a 16-4 advantage midway through the first half and continued to own the upper-hand, posting a 19-5 run to finish the half and head into the locker room up 35-9. Crossroads College grabbed 23 rebounds in the first half, compared to 21 boards for Northwestern. The Knights were not as successful shooting, connecting on just 3-of-25 (12.0%) from the floor as a team.
The second half did not fare much better for Crossroads College. Northwestern strung together a 28-3 run in the first 10 minutes and lead by as many as 62 points in the second twenty minutes of play before finishing the match-up on top in a final score of 83-22.
Northwestern shot a scorching 52.8% (19-of-36) from the floor in the second half and 8-of-17 (47.1%) from long range. The Eagles finished the affair shooting 44.7% (34-of-76) from the field. Northwestern’s 13 made three-point field goals represents the most since the 2003-2004 season, when the Eagles also put down 13 against Augsburg College. Crossroads College did not find the Ericksen Center rims to be as inviting, sinking just 6-of-42 (14.3%) field goal attempts for the contest.
As a team, Northwestern racked up 25 assists, the program’s most since January 18, 2003, when the Eagles dished out 28 against Crown College. Northwestern also posted a season-high 20 steals in the win over Crossroads College. The Eagles were paced by Kelly Sir (Cresco, Iowa/Crestwood HS) and Aimee Lind (Rib Lake, Wis.), accounting for 19 and 16 points respectively. The two players combined to net 9-of-17 shot attempts from three-point range. Katie Tuseth (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Heather Thompson (Akaska, SD/Selby Area HS) also owned solid performances with Tuseth accounting for 11 points, 5 assists, and 4 steals, while Thompson chipped in 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 steals.
For Crossroads College, freshman center Bethany LaFond (Monticello, Minn.) posted a double-double performance with 11 points and 14 rebounds. Carol Sylvester (Coon Rapids, Minn.) notched 11 points and 9 rebounds to aid in the Knights’ offensive efforts.
This was the first ever head-to-head meeting between Crossroads College and Northwestern College for women’s intercollegiate basketball. Northwestern will take the weekend off and return to action on Tuesday, December 13, traveling to UW-Superior for a 7 p.m. contest.