FREMONT, Neb. – The No. 17-ranked Northwestern College women’s basketball (7-0, 3-0 GPAC) team traveled to Fremont, Neb. to take on the Warriors of Midland University (4-3, 1-2 GPAC), walking away with a 75-65 win.
The Raiders jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead early in the first quarter and continued on a 16-3 run late into the first frame. Senior Jada Cunningham (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) paced the Raiders offensively with eight quarter points. The first quarter ended in the Raiders favor, 21-8, behind 67% mark from 3-point range.
The second frame saw an impressive defensive effort by the Raiders holding the Warriors to 25% from the field and 14% from beyond the arc. Devyn Kemble (Sr., Panora, Iowa/Panorama) paced a balanced attack with five quarter points. The stifling Raider defense caused 12 first half turnovers and held the Warriors to 29% for the half. Northwestern took a commanding 36-17 lead into the locker room.
A concerted effort from the Warriors was made coming out of the locker room to close the gap on the Raiders. Peyton Wingert and Emma Shepard paced the Midland attack with six points each. Molly Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) made her presence felt after a quiet first half scoring 12 quarter points on 5-8 shooting and keep the Warriors at arm’s length going into the final frame.
The final quarter of play saw Northwestern stretch their lead back out to a large as 18 with five minutes to go. A last-ditch effort from Midland trimmed the lead to seven with two minutes to go, but free-throws down the stretch from junior Maddie Jones (Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) and senior Taylor VanderVelde (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) sealed the deal on the 75-65 win.
Schany and Jones finished with 18 points each and six and five rebounds respectively. Kemble ended the night with 15 points on 6-11 shooting. Cunningham rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, six rebounds, and four steals. VanderVelde led the Raiders on the boards with seven.
Up Next: The Raiders will travel to California to take on San Diego Christian on Friday, Nov. 26 with tipoff set for 5 p.m. (CDT).
