Five Red Raiders scored in double figures in leading No.5 Northwestern to its 11th straight win, defeating Dakota State 103-52 in the final game of the Pizza Ranch Classic. The Red Raiders improve to 14-1 on the season heading into the heart of their conference schedule.
Sammy Blum put in 17 points, making seven of her 10 field goal attempts, and
Kassidy De Jong scored 16 on 7-of-13 from the floor.
Darbi Gustafson tallied her GPAC-leading seventh double-double of the season with 14 points and a game-high 11 boards, while
Haley Birks (13) and Bre Schuiteman (10) were also in double figures. Northwestern scored 100+ points for the first time this season and all 12 Red Raiders played 11+ minutes in a game they dominated from start to finish.
Northwestern scored the first 11 points of the game, finished off with a De Jong three-pointer, as the hosts built up an 18-3 lead with five minutes gone by in the first quarter. Blum knocked down a three-pointer on their final possession to give the Red Raiders a 31-14 advantage after one period.
The Red Raiders lead hovered around 20 points over the first five minutes of the second quarter until a 12-2 run put the hosts in front 57-28 after a couple of free throws by Birks. Blum scored five and
Alexis Toering scored four points during the surge. Northwestern led 59-31 at intermission.
Northwestern began the third quarter with the first 11 points and outscored the Lady T's 26-5 in the period to put the game away. Coach Yaw's squad limited DSU to just two field goals and led 85-36 by quarters end.Â
The Red Raiders dominated the stats sheet, shooting 56% from the field, 43% from the three-point line, and committed just turnovers.
Marina Keck netted a career-best eight points and Toering matched her career-best with four assists to got with seven points and three boards. Northwestern held a commanding 44-25 edge on the boards.Â
Jessi Giles scored 17 points, all in the first half, and Raven Patton netted 10 for Dakota State, who drops to 1-12 this season.