SEWARD, Neb. – The No. 12-ranked Northwestern College women’s basketball team (10-1, 4-1 GPAC) dropped a hard-fought game on the road in overtime to the No. 25-ranked Bulldogs of Concordia University (6-4, 3-3 GPAC) 84-82.
The first quarter proved a typical Northwestern-Concordia battle would ensue seeing both team shooting near 50% and an up and down pace being set. Maddie Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) set the pace with seven first quarter points putting the Raiders up 21-18 at the end of the first frame.
Northwestern would continue to keep the foot on the gas in the second quarter stretching their lead to as large as 11 behind 10 points from senior Devyn Kemble (Sr., Panora, Iowa/Panorama). For the quarter the Raiders would shoot an impressive 53.3 percent allowing them to take an eight-point lead into the locker room.
The battle between the Raiders and the Bulldogs continued seeing both teams shoot north of 50 percent in the third quarter. The Raiders would again stretch their lead out to double digits behind the play of senior guards Kemble and Jada Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) who combined for 14 quarter points.
The final frame would prove to be an exciting one. The Raiders would continue to keep the Bulldogs at arm’s length for a majority of the quarter. Four straight free throws by Bailey Conrad would tie the game at 71 with just under a minute to play. With 40 seconds left Jones hit a corner three to give Northwestern a three-point lead. The Bulldogs would not go away as Taysha Rushton would answer with a corner three of her own to tie it back up. A series of fouls would take time off the clock and one last chance for the Raiders would hit off the back part of the rim spelling overtime.
Concordia would score the first four points of the overtime period but the Raiders would battle back to take a one-point lead with 3:21 left to play. A series of made buckets by the Bulldogs would give them the lead but another pair of free throws would pull Northwestern back within two with 8 seconds to play. A Concordia timeout to advance the ball set up a sideline out of bounds for the Bulldogs. Emilee Danner (Jr., Westside, Iowa/Ar-We-Va) would come up with a big steal to give the Raiders a transition opportunity and Taylor VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) would go one-for-two from the line. Two free throws from Concordia would give Northwestern one final look with two seconds to play. It was not to be as Jones three-point attempt would not fall through.
Kemble would again lead the Raiders with 20 points in the contest. Molly Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) would finish with an impressive 18 points on 8-12 from the floor and seven rebounds. The back-court duo of Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) and Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) would each finish with 17 to round out the double-digit scorers for the Raiders. VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) would stuff the stat sheet with seven rebounds, five steals, and three assists.
Up Next: The Raiders will travel to take on fellow Sioux County rival No. 22-ranked Dordt University on Wednesday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m. in Sioux Center, Iowa.
