Box Score

Northwestern College suffered its first loss of the season, falling to #15 Concordia 88-81 in the conference opener for both teams played tonight at the Bultman Center. Both teams are now 4-1 on the year. 

Kassidy De Jong scored a game-high 27 points and Paige Danner poured in career-high 20 to lead the Red Raiders. Haley Birks netted 10 points, all in the second half. 

How It Happened...

Both teams shot the ball well in a back-and-forth first quarter that featured four ties and five lead changes. With Northwestern up 20-19 after a three-pointer by Chanda Zomermaand, Concordia went on the game's first substantial run, outscoring the hosts 9-2 over the final 3:30 for a 28-22 first quarter lead.

Concordia's defense took over in the second quarter, forcing nine Northwestern turnovers leading to 12 Bulldogs points. Concordia extended its lead to as much as 13 and to 11, 48-37, at the half.

Northwestern slowly cut into the Concordia lead in the third and following a three-pointer by Kassidy De Jong, trailed by two (55-53) at the 3:57 mark. The teams traded baskets over the final minutes with Concordia holding onto a 64-59 advantage at the end of the third.

The Bulldogs started to pull away in the fourth and led by nine (74-65) after baskets by Quinn Wragge, Mary Janovich and Philomena Lammers with under five minutes to go. Northwestern, however, rallied once again, using a 7-1 run to make it a one possession game, 84-81, following a three-pointer by De Jong with 30 seconds left. With Northwestern forced to foul, Concordia made all four of its free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

By the Numbers...

Northwestern shot 49% for the game, 38% (8-for-21) from the three-point line; Concordia went 31-for-70 (44%) from the field and 8-for-19 (42%) from the three-point line.

Both teams totaled 35 rebounds; Concordia held a 14-7 advantage on the offensive glass

Turnovers played a key role in the outcome; Northwestern with a season-high 23 and Concordia with 14

De Jong has scored in double figures in all five games; has three 20+ games, including two straight

Danner bettered her previous career high of 18 points against Mount Marty last season

Chanda Zomermaand came off the bench and scored a career-best eight points, going 2-for-3 from the three-point line

Darbi Gustafson pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and Renee Maneman dished out seven assists

Five Concordia players scored in double figures, led by Shelby Quinn and Mary Janovich with 17 points each