Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Northwestern College Athletics

Northwestern College
HOME OF NORTHWESTERN RED RAIDERS ATHLETICS
HONORING CHRIST THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN ATHLETICS
Nike
wbb-morningside-recap-1.25.23
93
Winner Northwestern NWC 15-5, 10-4 GPAC
65
Morningside MORN 13-8, 8-7 GPAC
Winner
Northwestern NWC
15-5, 10-4 GPAC
93
Final
65
Morningside MORN
13-8, 8-7 GPAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Northwestern NWC 19 22 32 20 93
Morningside MORN 21 19 17 8 65

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | NWC Athletic Communications

Red Raider Offense Explodes in 93-65 Road Win at Morningside

Northwestern breaks single-game field goal percentage record in 28-point win

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The No. 20-ranked Northwestern College women's basketball team (15-5, 10-4 GPAC) picked up their tenth Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) win with the team's first win over the Mustangs of Morningside University (13-8, 8-7 GPAC) in Sioux City since 2018 with a convincing 93-65 road win over the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) preseason favorites.

The 28-point margin of victory marks the second-largest victory over the Mustangs in program history. The win also stops a three-game skid to Morningside and marks the first win inside the Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center since 2018.
"I'm really proud of our team tonight. I thought we brought a lot of energy and focus to start the game. I really liked the pace of the game early," noted head coach Kristin Rotert. "We were aggressive in the open floor and attacked their full court press with a lot of energy. Molly established a presence early, which created shots on the perimeter."

Back and forth first quarter as neither team led by more than five points in the opening quarter. The Mustangs led 15-10 early on before five straight points from Maddie Jones (Sr., Twin Lakes, Iowa) – a 3-pointer and a layup – knotted the game up at 15-15. In all, the first quarter saw four ties between the two squads. Molly Schany (Jr., Emmetsburg, Iowa) scored eight of the Red Raiders 19 first quarter points, as the Mustangs held the 21-19 advantage at the end of the quarter.

Neither team attempted a free throw in the first 10 minutes of the contest and the Red Raiders recorded two blocks early on.

Northwestern opened up their largest lead of four, up to that point, at 29-25 with just under six minutes to play in the half, forcing Morningside to use their first time out. Leading by two with three minutes to go in the half, Jones drove hard to the basket and absorbed the contact and completed the three-point play to give Northwestern their new largest lead of five points at 36-31. Morningside would score five-straight of their own, but Maren Nerem (So., Edgerton, Minn.) would knock down two free ones to keep the Red Raiders up with a minute left to go in the half. The two teams would exchange buckets heading into the half as Northwestern would take a one-point lead into the locker room, leading 41-40.

"Our bench provided a great spark the entire game," said Rotert. "We went 10-deep on the bench in the first half and each player brought a high level of energy and toughness, highlighted by Emilee (Danner) with another great rebounding effort and making her presence felt defensively.
It was a fast start for the Red Raider in the second half, sparked by the first five Northwestern points being scored by Taylor VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D.). A 7-2 Red Raider run started with Jones' second old fashioned three-point play of the night, gave NWC the 53-48 lead and forced yet another Mustang time out. Hali Anderson (So., Saint Ansgar, Iowa) would give the Raiders a six-point lead, while a Mustang turnover and layup by Emilee Danner (Sr., Westside, Iowa) gave Northwestern the game's largest lead of eight points (58-50).

Northwestern would go on to completely dominate the rest of the third quarter, using a 15-7 run the rest of the period, to take a 16-point lead. The Red Raiders could literally not miss, shooting 14-for-15 (93.3%) from the floor to take the commanding 73-57 lead into the fourth quarter.

"We really settled in defensively in the second half," noted Rotert. "Morningside is a great offensive team and I thought we did a good job limiting their key players and containing them much better one-on-one."

Entering the final quarter up big, the Red Raider bench saw some actionable minutes in the fourth. Freshman Ellie Karolevitz (Yankton, S.D.) would net 10 points, while Kylie Foss (Brandon, S.D.) would end the game with 11 points of her own. The Raiders never looked back. After taking a 20-point lead with a fast break lay-up from Schany a minute and a half in, Northwestern would never relinquish a lead under that 20-point mark. A Lexie Van Kekerix (So., Rock Valley, Iowa) bucket would give the Raiders their largest lead of the night at 29 (91-62), as NWC would go on to prevail by the final score of 93-65.

"It's great to get a tough road win in the midst of this rigorous stretch of five games in 11 days," concluded Rotert. "We look forward to another great opportunity on Saturday at Jamestown."
GAME NOTES:
  • Northwestern's 72.2% (39-for-54) shooting from the floor marks a new single-game program record for field goal percentage in a game.
  • NWC picks up their first win over Morningside in Sioux City since 2018, snapping a three-game skid to the Mustangs.
  • The 28-point win marks the second-largest margin of victory over the Mustangs, beat only by a 29-point win in 2019.
  • NWC shot 9-for-11 from the free throw line (81.8%), while shooting a hot 50% from deep (6-for-12).
  • The Raiders had 27 assists, 13 steals, and four blocks as a team in the win.
  • 67% of Northwestern's points came inside the paint tonight. The bench added 34 points, while scoring 25 points off Mustang turnovers.
  • Emilee Danner notches her fourth double-double of the season with her 12 points and 10 rebounds off the bench; making it back-to-back double-doubles for the senior.
  • Danner also joins the Red Raider 150 Steals Club with her two steals tonight, becoming the 25th Raider in program history to do so.
  • Five Red Raiders notch double digit points: Maddie Jones (19), Molly Schany (18), Taylor VanderVelde (15), Emilee Danner (12), Ellie Karolevitz (10).
  • Karolevitz's 10 points is her first double-digit scoring game as a Red Raider, marking a new career-high.
  • Jones was electric all night, notching game-highs in scoring (19 points), assists (8), and steals (5) en route to the Red Raider victory.
SCOOTER'S PLAYER OF THE GAME
Maddie Jones
Up Next: Northwestern will remain on the road on Saturday, January 28 when they head north to battle the Jimmies of the University of Jamestown (16-5, 11-4 GPAC) from Harold Newman Arena with a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.  
 
Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut
Print Friendly Version