ORANGE CITY, Iowa – After nearly a two week hiatus from the court the Northwestern College women’s basketball team (13-2, 5-2 GPAC) took on the Statesmen of William Penn University (1-15, 1-4 HAAC) and came away with a 71-57 victory.
The Raiders jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. A pair of threes by William Penn would keep the Raiders close at 10-6. Both teams shot north of 50 percent for the quarter resulting in a high scoring first frame seeing the Raiders leading 28-19.
Early in the second quarter the Raiders would stretch their lead to as many as 14 before both teams went cold and neither would score for just over four minutes. The Raiders would take a 39-27 lead into the halftime break.
Coming out of the locker room the Raiders would go to Molly Schany for a jumper that would increase their lead back to 14. After a layup by William Penn Maddie Jones would find Devyn Kemble from deep to push the Raiders out in front by 15. The Statesmen would get as close as 10 during the third period of play but couldn’t get any closer as the Raiders continued to keep them at arms length going into the final frame with a 54-39 lead.
The final frame saw an impressive nine quarter points from Kemble to answer any threat of a comeback from the Statesmen. The Raiders were able to keep a double digit lead the rest of the way and seal the win with free throws down the stretch.
Kemble (Sr., Panora, Iowa/Panorama) led the Raiders with 18 points, cashing in five three pointers. Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) with 14 points on an efficient 7 for 10 from the field. Senior Taylor VanderVelde (Sioux Fall, S.D./Washington) nearly grabbed a double double with eight points and eight rebounds on the night. Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) finished with eight rebounds, tying her for the team lead with VanderVelde, and six assists. Senior Jada Cunningham (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) led the team in assists with seven, she also tallied eight points. Emilee Danner (Jr., Westside, Iowa/Ar-We-Va) came off the bench to provide eight points and six rebound. Hannah Nerem (Jr., Edgerton, Minn./Southwest Minnesota Christian) grabbed five boards and tossed in four points. Maren Nerem (Fr., Edgerton, Minn./Southwest Minnesota Christian) and Zoe Heemstra (Jr., Orange City, Iowa/MOC-Floyd Valley) rounded out the scoring for the Raiders with four and three respectively.
Up Next: The Raiders will resume Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play on Saturday, Jan. 1, against Dakota Wesleyan University at 2 p.m. in the Bultman Center on Northwestern’s campus.
