RIVER FALLS, Wis. — Simply put, the Northwestern College women’s basketball team would probably like to forget their performance against the University of Wisconsin-River Falls on Friday night. The Eagles were trounced 62-32 by the host Falcons and now stand at 5-6 overall this season. UW-River Falls improved to .500 on the year with a 6-6 overall showing.

Northwestern found themselves down 20-2 just 6 minutes into the game and never recovered. The Eagles were on the short end of a 37-16 halftime score and were unable to mount any type of comeback in the second half.

Poor shooting and turnovers proved to be a bad combination for Northwestern. The Eagles made just 15-of-43 (34.9%) field goal attempts and 1-of-7 (14.3%) attempts from the free throw line. Twenty-nine Northwestern turnovers led to 32 points for UW-River Falls. The Falcons also boasted a 37-25 advantage in rebounding.

Heather Thompson (Akaska, S.D./Selby Area HS) paced Northwestern with 8 points and 7 rebounds along with 2 assists and 2 steals. Thompson made 4-of-6 from the floor. Julie Ross (New Hope, Minn./Cooper HS), Hannah McEvoy (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West HS), and Katie Tuseth (White Bear Lake, Minn.) each owned 6 points.

Northwestern will enjoy a long break during the holiday season and return to action when they open up Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) play on Friday, January 6, at Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota, at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles are the defending regular season and post-season champions in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.