Sioux City, Iowa — The No. 13-ranked Northwestern College women’s basketball team (19-4, 11-4 GPAC) saw their six-game win streak snapped in a top-15 Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) clash to No. 8-ranked Morningside (18-3, 14-1 GPAC) Wednesday evening. The final was 81-63.
The opening quarter was the tale of two runs. The Mustangs jumped out to an early 16-5 advantage as Morningside was able to capitalize on eight Raider first quarter turnovers. However, the Raiders would respond with an 11-0 run of their own to fight back into the contest.
Hannah Nerem (Jr., Edgerton, Minn./SW Minn. Christian) with a lay-up after a drive from the elbow and an Emilee Danner (Jr., Westside, Iowa/Ar-We-Va) 3-pointer got the Raider offense flowing. Northwestern’s offense would come alive late in the first quarter, sparked by the presence of Danner who dropped eight points in the opening quarter as Morningside would only lead by two (20-18) after the first 10 minutes.
The Raiders took their first lead of the contest 26-24 with six minutes to go in the second quarter, but Morningside would take back the lead and take a 38-32 lead into the halftime break
Morningside opened up an eight-point lead in the third quarter 44-36 before a Jada Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) layup and a Mustang turnover plus a Molly Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) bucket cut the Morningside lead to four. Morningside would respond with 6-0 spurt of their own to extend their lead back up to 13 at 56-43, before Danner cut the run with another 3-pointer.
The Mustangs used the 3-point basket to extend their lead in the fourth quarter, holding a 69-50 lead midway through the quarter. A 5-0 spurt with baskets from Cunningham and a 3-pointer from Taylor VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) forced a Mustang time out with five minutes and change left to go. Morningside would respond with a 12-5 run to keep the game out of the reach of the Raiders, downing Northwestern 81-63.
Danner led the Raiders with 11 points off the bench. Nerem was the lone other double-digit scorer with 10, going five of six from the field. Schany paced the Raiders on the glass with six rebounds, she finished with nine points. Maddie Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) also scored nine on the night, she also collected five rebounds.
Up Next: The Raiders will remain on the road this Saturday when they travel to Jamestown, N.D. to battle the Jimmies of the University of Jamestown 16-8 (9-7 GPAC) at 2:00 p.m. from Harold Newman Arena.
