Fifth-ranked Northwestern downed (RV) Briar Cliff 87-65 in a conference match-up between ranked teams played tonight at the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders picked up their eighth straight win and improve to 7-1 in the GPAC, 11-1 overall.
Darbi Gustafson, the reigning NAIA player of the week, scored a game-high 24 points and pulled down nine rebounds to lead Coach Yaw's squad.
Sammy Blum scored all of her career-best 21 points from beyond the arc, making a career high seven three pointers in 13 attempts.
Haley Birks, Bre Schuiteman and
Kassidy De Jong all chipped in 11 points.
Leading by one (11-10) midway through the first quarter, Northwestern outscored the Chargers 16-2 over the final 4:35 for a 29-14 advantage by the end of the opening quarter. The Red Raiders converted four three-pointers, three by Blum and one by
Jada Cunningham, and limited Briar Cliff to one basket during the run.
Both teams went on brief scoring runs in a second quarter that ended with a 39-29 Red Raider lead. The Chargers continued to chip away at the hosts lead, getting to within seven (45-38) after a three-point play by Taylor Wagner with 6:34 left in the third. Northwestern, however, put the game away with a 22-9 run, scoring the final six points of the third quarter on back-to-back three-pointer by Blum, for a 67-47 advantage.
Northwestern stretched its lead to as much as 27 during the final 10 minutes.
The Red Raiders shot 49% for the game, 43% (13/30) from the three-point line. Both Gustafson and De Jong pulled down nine rebounds to give their team a slight 33-31 edge on the glass. Cunningham dished out a career-high eight assists and
Alexis Toering totaled four assists and three blocks.
Wagner led Briar Cliff with 18 points and five rebounds. The Chargers shot 47% for the game, 46% (5/11) from the three-point line, and forced 26 NWC turnovers.
Northwestern will conclude the pre-Christmas portion of its schedule with a road game against No.15 Hastings this weekend.
