SIOUX CENTER, Iowa – Another edition of the Northwestern-Dordt rivalry went the way of the Defenders (7-5, 2-4 GPAC), 79-66, the Raiders (10-2, 4-2 GPAC) have now dropped two straight after beginning conference play 4-0.
Dordt jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead early in the first quarter. As Northwestern found their footing they would fight back to gain their first lead 8-7 with 3:58 to go in the first quarter. Dordt would then go on an 11-0 run, but
Devyn Kemble would hit a three as the buzzer sounded to cut the deficit to seven.
The second quarter would open up with four quick points from
Molly Schany. But the combination of Bailey Beckman and Ashtyn Veerbeek would stretch the Dordt lead to as much as 17.
Jada Cunningham and
Maddie Jones would score for the Raiders on three straight possessions but a banked in buzzer beater would stretch the Dordt lead back out to 15 going into the halftime break.
The third quarter saw another push from the Defenders as they stretched their lead out to as many as 22. Both teams shot 43.8 percent from the field and scored 19 points each for the quarter. Cunningham continued to pace the Raiders with six quarter points bring her total on the night to 15. Going into the final frame the Raiders trailed 61-46.
The final frame saw a valiant effort from the Raiders as they continued to battle. Five straight points from Cunningham cut the lead to 10 with four minutes to play but the deficit proved to be too much to overcome.
Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Fall, S.D./Washington) finished with a new career high of 25 points. Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Kemble (Sr., Panora, Iowa/Panorama) and Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) would both finish with eight points.
Emilee Danner (Jr., Westside, Iowa/Ar-We-Va) would come off the bench to contribute six points and eight rebounds. Veerbeek would lead all scorers with 26, followed closely by Beckman who had 22 for the Defenders.
Up Next: The Raiders will return home to the Bultman Center on Saturday, Dec. 8, to take on the No. 10 ranked Mustangs of Morningside with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m.
