The Eagles found themselves leading 14-10 midway through the first half. After the Vikings tied the game at 18, Northwestern finished the final 3 minutes of the half on a 7-2 run and boasted a 25-20 halftime advantage. Both teams struggled shooting as the Eagles made just 9-of-32 (28.1%) field goal attempts, while Bethany Lutheran connected on just 7-of-35 (20.0%) attempts from the floor.
Northwestern never trailed in the second half, increasing their lead to 10 points at 44-34 midway through the second frame. The largest advantage the Eagles owned was 13 points, occurring on 3 occasions, including when the final horn rang out as the scoreboard read 60-47 in favor of Northwestern.
Free throw shooting represented a key difference in the game as the Eagles made 19-of-31 (58.3%) from the charity stripe versus the Vikings’ 11-of-16 (68.8%) shooting from the line. Northwestern’s 19 made free throws set a new season-high for a single game.
Sophomore guard Julie Ross (New Hope, Minn./Cooper High School) paced the Eagles with 14 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. Maggie Chandler (Elbow Lake, Minn./West Central HS) notched her second straight double-double performance and third of the year with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Hannah McEvoy (Wausau, Wis./Wausau West HS) nearly produced her own double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds.
Bethany Lutheran’s offensive production was highlighted by Jessica Merseth and Lindsay Kahle as they owned 16 and 14 points respectively with Merseth also grabbing 12 rebounds.
Northwestern College will continue Upper Midwest Athletic Conference play with an important two-game home stand, facing Presentation College on Friday, January 13th, at 5:30 p.m. The Eagles will then clash with the University of Minnesota-Morris on Saturday, January 14th, at 3 p.m. Like the Eagles, Presentation and Minnesota-Morris will both enter the weekend with undefeated records in the UMAC.