Game Time... No.8 Northwestern College will host a pair of games this weekend for their final tune-up prior to the GPAC Opener. On Friday night, the Red Raiders will play Friends (Kan.), beginning at 5:30pm, and will then match-up against #16 Valley City State (N.D.) on Saturday at 1pm. Both games will be held at the Bultman Center.
Follow the games live, via the NWC webcast, at the following link:
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Friday night's game will also be on the radio, Classic Hits 101.5
All-Time... Northwestern is 2-0 all-time against Friends, defeating the Falcons in each of the last two seasons. Last year, the Red Raiders earned an 81-74 win over Friends in the first round of the NAIA D-II National Championship. Northwestern also holds an 11-1 edge in the all-time series against Valley City State.
Scouting Reports...
Friends University Falcons: 0-0 Head Coach: Heather Howard (1st)
Picked to finish fourth among the 11-team Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC), the Falcons are making their 2018-19 season debut under the direction of first year head coach Heather Howard. Howard, a former assistant at both Northwest Missouri State and Cornell, inherits a team that returns two starters and 14 players from a 2017-18 team that won its second straight KCAC regular season title and ended with a 24-9 overall record. They lost to Northwestern in the first round of the national tournament (81-74) and finished the season ranked 22nd. Nine seniors graduated from last year's team.
Lexi Evans is one of the two returning starters and was named to the KCAC Preseason All-Conference team. Evans averaged 7.7 points per game and ranked second on the team with 64 three-pointers, shooting 28% from beyond the arc. She was a second team all-conference pick and also a member of the KCAC All-Defense team. Laramie Edens is the other returning starter and scored 8.1 points per game.
2017-18 Stats:
76.3ppg 70ppg given up
40% FG 41% FG Opponent
31% 3pt 29% 3pt Opponent
-6 Reb Margin
Top Returners:
Lexi Evans - 7.7ppg, 64 3pters, 28% 3pt, 110 assists
Laramie Edens - 8.1ppg, 44% FG, 3.7 rpg, 18 assists
Khadijah Kelly - 2.8ppg
#16 Valley City State Vikings: 1-1 Head Coach; Vanessa Keeler-Johnson (2nd year)
The Vikings bring a 1-1 record into the weekend, defeating Providence College in a rout and losing to No.2 Dakota Wesleyan 60-55 Tuesday night in Mitchell, S.D.
Keeler-Johnson is in her second year as the Vikings head coach, coming to VCS after a one-year stint as head coach at Detroit Lakes High School and three years as the assistant at Minnesota State Moorhead. Keeler-Johnson returns three starters and eight players from a record-setting 2017-18 team that won a school record 25 games and lost in the first round of the NAIA D-II National Tournament. They were ranked 14th in the final coaches' poll last year and open this season ranked 16th and are picked to win the North Star Athletic Association championship.
By the Numbers:
68ppg 40.5 Opp ppg
43% FG 27% Opp FG
27% 3pt 8% Opp 3pt
+17 Reb Margin
Individual Leaders:
Mackenzie Huber (returning starter) - 14ppg, 69% FG, 8rpg
Alli Vandal (all-conference) - 12.5ppg, 5rpg
Alexis Bentz - 10ppg, 7rpg
Hannah Schlecht - 8.0ppg, 3 3pters
Northwestern Notes:
The Red Raiders opened their season with a 99-58 win at Dakota State last week.
Darbi Gustafson poured in a career-high 29 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead Coach Yaw's squad.
Haley Birks netted 18 and
Kassidy De Jong added 13 points and 10 boards for her 24th career double-double. Bre Schuiteman (11) and
Sammy Blum (10) gave the Red Raiders five players in double figures.
Kassidy De Jong ranks 10th all-time in career scoring with 1,643 points; De Jong has 699 career rebounds and ranks 15th, three shy of matching Miranda (Boekhout) Riediger for 14th place.
Darbi Gustafson has 1,062 career points, ranks 27th overall; 623 rebounds, 20th overall
Haley Birks is 36th all-time in scoring with 949 points, 41st with 436 rebounds
