Omaha, Nebraska — The Northwestern College women’s basketball team scored a dominating 74-39 road victory at College of Saint Mary (Neb.) on Saturday afternoon at the Lied Fitness Center.
Saturday’s win was the 11th straight and 13th in the last 15 games for the surging Raiders, who moved into a second place tie with Concordia in the GPAC standings with a 16-5 record. They are 16-8 overall and host GPAC regular season champion and No.9 Morningside on Feb. 20 for the final game of the regular season.
Just like in the previous meeting between the teams, Northwestern stormed out to a huge lead and never trailed against the Flames. The Raiders knocked down four three-pointers, two by Sammy Blum and one each for Taylor VanderVelde and Emilee Danner, and raced out to a 14-0 lead after the first five-plus minutes, holding the hosts without a field goal for nearly six minutes. Northwestern held a 23-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Jazy Prins and Blum began a 10-0, second quarter run that resulted in a 21-point lead by halftime, 37-16. Northwestern shot 50% (7/14) from beyond the arc while holding College of Saint Mary to 23% shooting in the first half.
Northwestern extended its lead to 30 points by the end of the third quarter and the margin remained there for the duration of the game.
Blum led all players with 17 points, one of three Raiders to score in double figures, and matched her career-high with nine rebounds. Danner nette 14 points while VanderVelde contributed 10 points and nine rebounds. Northwestern shot 39% for the game and held a commanding edge on the glass, 41-25.
Danner and Maddie Jones led Northwestern with four assists each.
Honnah Leo led College of Saint Mary with 13 points, the only Flames player to score in double figures. The hosts shot 27% for the game, 13% (2/15) from the three-point line.
