Winning for the fourth time in their last five contests, Northwestern improved to 12-9 overall on the year and 7-3 in Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) action. The visiting Vikings had their four-game winning streak snapped and slipped to 9-12 on the year and 5-5 in conference play. For the second time this season, the Eagles ended a four-game winning streak of Bethany Lutheran as Northwestern carried out the same feat back on January 7th, with a 60-47 triumph on the Viking’s home floor.
With both teams struggling to find their shooting touch, the first 10 minutes of the opening half produced just 15 points total. Northwestern slowly built an 11-to-4 lead at the midway point as junior guard Aimee Lind (Rib Lake, Wis.) and sophomore guard Katie Tuseth (White Bear Lake, Minn.) hit back-to-back three-point field goals to create some space for the Eagles. Northwestern continued to own the upper-hand, extending their advantage to 15 points as the scoreboard read 31-to-16 with 2:28 remaining in the half. Bethany Lutheran was able to close out the half on a modest 7-to-4 run, cutting their deficit to 12 points at 35-to-23 with 20 minutes to go.
The Eagles greatly improved their shooting in the latter stages of the half, sinking 14-of-29 (48.3%) from the floor in the frame. On the other end of the court, the Vikings connected on just 10-of-36 (27.8%) from the field, including 1-of-9 (11.1%) from three-point range. The Northwestern reserves looked sharp, outscoring the Bethany Lutheran bench 17-to-0 in the half. Katie Tuseth’s 9 points paced the Eagles at the midway point.
Down by double-digits to begin the second half, Bethany Lutheran had plenty of punches still to give. The Vikings started the half scoring the first 5 points as they closed to within 7 points at 35-to-28 just 3 minutes into the period. After a pair of Eagle free throws, Bethany Lutheran continued their comeback attempt, stringing together a 7-0 run as the Vikings trailed by just 2 points at 37-to-35 at the 14:02 mark.
Highlighted by back-to-back three-point swishes credited to Aimee Lind, the defending conference champions took back the momentum with a 10-to-2 run as Northwestern maintained control on account of a 47-to-37 score midway through the final half. The Eagles upped their lead to 12 points at 55-to-43 with just over 7 minutes remaining and later found themselves in front 62-to-48 with just under 5 minutes to play in the league affair. The final stretch of the game featured Northwestern holding off any further Viking rally as the Eagles prevailed for the 68-53 victory.
In a very balanced attack, Katie Tuseth posted a season-high and tied her career-high with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Junior forward Hannah McEvoy (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West High School) added 12 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Julie Ross (New Hope, Minn./Cooper High School) produced another excellent all-around performance owning 10 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists. Northwestern was successful on 16-of-23 (69.6%) attempts from the free throw line.
For the Vikings, just their second appearance ever in the Ericksen Center proved to be an unfriendly experience as they made just 20-of-75 (26.7%) field goal attempts and only 3-of-16 (18.8%) from three-point range. Jessica Merseth (Mankato, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran High School) highlighted Bethany Lutheran’s offensive production, putting down a game-high 19 points, also grabbing 16 rebounds. Lindsay Kahle (Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East High School) added 18 points in the loss.
Northwestern College is now 4-0 all-time against Bethany Lutheran College and 2-0 at home against the Vikings. The Eagles will return to the Ericksen Center on Saturday afternoon, clashing with Martin Luther College (Minn.) at 3 p.m. Bethany Lutheran will also compete for the second time in as many days, meeting up with Crown College (Minn.) on Saturday in St. Bonifacius, Minnesota, at 3 p.m.
Bethany Lutheran College Women vs Northwestern College Women 02/03/06 5:30 PM at St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center At St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE WOMEN 68, BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE WOMEN 53 BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE WOMEN (9-12, 5-5 UMAC) Merseth, Jessica 9-21 1-3 19; Kahle, Lindsay 6-17 4-6 18; Madson, Christina 3-11 2-2 9; Voss, Eva 1-4 1-2 3; Bremer, Leslie 1-9 1-2 3; Wigley, ReBecca 0-5 1-2 1; Bowman, Brittany 0-0 0-0 0; Wollin, Chelsea 0-5 0-0 0; Walker, Alicia 0-0 0-0 0; Danielson, Ashley 0-3 0-1 0. Totals 20-75 10-18 53. NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE WOMEN (12-9, 7-3 UMAC) Tuseth, Katie 5-7 2-2 14; McEvoy, Hannah 4-8 4-6 12; Ross, Julie 3-7 4-4 10; Lind, Aimee 3-10 0-0 9; Sir, Kelly 3-6 1-1 8; Chandler, Maggie 2-6 3-4 7; Thompson, Heather 2-6 2-6 6; Johnson, Jenna 1-1 0-0 2; Toews, Luanne 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-52 16-23 68. Bethany Lutheran College Women 23 30 - 53 Northwestern College Women.... 35 33 - 68 3-point goals-Bethany Lutheran College Women 3-16 (Kahle, Lindsay 2-5; Madson, Christina 1-6; Wigley, ReBecca 0-2; Wollin, Chelsea 0-1; Danielson, Ashley 0-1; Voss, Eva 0-1), Northwestern College Women 6-13 (Lind, Aimee 3-8; Tuseth, Katie 2-3; Sir, Kelly 1-1; Toews, Luanne 0-1). Fouled out--Bethany Lutheran College Women-None, Northwestern College Women-None. Rebounds-Bethany Lutheran College Women 49 (Merseth, Jessica 16), Northwestern College Women 46 (Ross, Julie 14). Assists-Bethany Lutheran College Women 8 (Danielson, Ashley 3), Northwestern College Women 16 (McEvoy, Hannah 4). Total fouls-Bethany Lutheran College Women 21, Northwestern College Women 12. A-483 Northwestern College defeated Bethany Lutheran by a score of 68-53.