JAMESTOWN, N.D. – The No. 13-ranked Northwestern College women’s basketball team (19-5, 11-5 GPAC) dropped a Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) contest to Jamestown (16-8, 9-7 GPAC) on the road, 65-48 behind 38.9% shooting from 3-point range.
A slow start to the contest aided by the Jamestown defense resulted in the lowest scoring first quarter for the Raiders this season, trailing 18-6 after one. Both teams couldn’t buy a bucket in the first few minutes as it was 3-2 five minutes into the contest. The Jimmies dominated the rebound game with eight offensive rebounds alone to Northwestern’s seven total in the quarter.
Jamestown heavily relied on the 3-point shot in the first quarter, hoisting up 15 of them. All of their six buckets in the quarter came from behind the arc, enabling them to take the 12-point lead in the first.
The second quarter saw the Jimmies begin to work inside the arc as they kept Northwestern at bay, despite the Raiders’ best attempts to chip into the deficit. Down 13 with under three minutes to play in the half, Maddie Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) drove to the basket, taking on contact, and converting the 3-point play. The Jimmies would take a ten-point (32-22) lead into the halftime break.
Northwestern came out with a fire and opened up the second half with five straight points to immediately cut into the Jimmies deficit, 32-27. A Jada Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) three would cut the deficit to two and force a Jamestown timeout. The Jimmies would respond and continue to give the Raiders fits offensively. Despite the fast start to the half, Jamestown would hold an eight-point 47-39 advantage heading into the final frame.
The final frame saw more hot shooting from beyond the arc from the Jimmies. The Raiders were unable to get closer than nine points during the fourth quarter. Midway through the quarter the Jimmies would rattle off a 9-2 run that would put the game out of reach.
For the game the Raiders shot 33.3 percent opposed to the Jimmies 40.7 percent, including 38.9 percent from beyond the arc. Jamestown also received a boost with 32 points coming from their bench. Jamestown made 14 threes while the Raiders only attempted 13.
Jones had an impressive 17 points on six of eleven from the floor, she also tied for the team lead on the boards (6) with senior Taylor VanderVelde (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington). Molly Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) led the team with four assists, she totaled nine points, four rebounds, and two steals. Zoe Heemstra (Jr., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) provided seven points off the bench.
Up Next: The College of Saint Mary Flames come to Orange City on Wednesday, February 2 to complete the season series with tip-off slated for 6:00 p.m. from inside the Bultman Center.
