Box Score Northwestern College lost to 15th-ranked Briar Cliff 69-63 in a conference match-up played tonight in Sioux City, Iowa.
The loss drops Northwestern to 0-2 in the GPAC, 6-2 overall, while Briar Cliff improves to 1-0 in conference play, 3-2 overall.
Kassidy De Jong led all scorers with 19 points, going 7-for-14 from the field, reaching double figures for her eighth consecutive game. Renee Maneman joined De Jong in double figures with 16 points, her second highest total of the season. Maneman drained a career-high two three-pointers.
How It Happened...
Northwestern struggled to put the ball in the basket in the early going, shooting just 19% (3-for-16) during the opening quarter. Briar Cliff took advantage, scoring the first 10 points of the game en route to a 23-7 lead by the end of the first quarter.
A 12-2 Northwestern run, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by De Jong, put the Red Raiders within six (25-19) in the opening moments of the second quarter. Still down six in the waning moments the quarter, Northwestern outscored the hosts 8-2 over the final 1:30 and tied the game at 33 after a three-pointer by Chanda Zomermaand.
Haley Birks made a jumper followed by a De Jong three-pointer sparked an 11-3 run and gave Northwestern its largest lead, 46-39, with three minutes left in the third quarter. Briar Cliff, however, came back to score the final seven points and tied the game at 46 by the end of the quarter following a basket by Kailey Burke.
The Chargers' run continued into the final quarter as they opened up a 50-46 lead following a basket by Erin Grimshaw (8:59), making it an 11-0 surge. The hosts pushed their advantage to seven (64-57) until Northwestern cut it to three at two different times, the final after a pair of free throws by Birks (66-63) with 27 seconds to go. Briar Cliff made 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to clinch it for the Chargers.
By the Numbers...
Northwestern shot 34% for the game, compared to 45% by the Chargers. The Red Raiders' best quarter was the second where they shot 57%
The Red Raiders were outrebounded, 44-36; both teams grabbed 11 on the offensive glass.
Chanda Zomermaand contributed eight points coming off the Red Raider bench; Haley Birks led NWC with six rebounds.
Maneman dished out a game-high eight assists.
