ORANGE CITY, Iowa – The newest edition of the Northwestern-Dordt rivalry did not disappoint as the No. 16-ranked Northwestern College women’s basketball team (23-6, 15-6 GPAC) snapped No. 24-ranked Dordt’s (22-7, 15-6 GPAC) 15-game win streak, downing the Defenders 72-62. It marks the sixth ranked opponent to fall inside the Bultman Center this season.
“I’m incredibly proud of our effort and focus tonight,” stated head coach Kristin Rotert. “Dordt is a very physical team with a lot of size and I thought our toughness on the defensive end of the floor made a big difference for us.”
Dordt jumped out to an early 11-3 lead and forced the Raiders to burn an early timeout. A pair of Hannah Nerem (Jr., Edgerton, Minn./SW MInn. Christian) free throws would stem the tide temporarily. Ashtyn Verbeek would start the game on a hot streak, going 6-for-8 in the first frame and scoring 14 quarter points. Back-to-back threes from Taylor VanderVelde and Emilee Danner would pull the Raiders within seven. After both teams traded baskets Northwestern would trail 23-15 at the end of one.
Though rattled, the Raiders would fight back in the second quarter. Northwestern would lock down on the defensive end in the second quarter, holding Dordt to eight total points and 26.7 percent from the field. A made three from Devyn Kemble would pull the Raiders within five. The teams would go on to trade baskets for the middle portion of the quarter and then the Raiders found a rhythm finishing the quarter on a 14-2 run. Kemble would nail two from deep in the quarter, and Jada Cunningham would score seven in the quarter to help give the Raiders 37-31 lead at half.
Both teams would come out of the halftime break, firing on all cylinders as they would trade baskets with very few empty possessions for either team. A VanderVelde three followed by a Kemble jumper, and finally a Cunningham jumper would give the Raiders a nine-point lead (50-41). Dordt would respond with three straight baskets of their own pulling them within three (50-47). The lack of a dead ball would see both squads fighting through fatigue as subs sat at the table. Another Kemble three would stop the Defender run and give the Raiders a 53-47 lead. Maddie Jones would score a layup with under 30 seconds in the quarter to give Northwestern a 55-47 lead going into the final quarter of play.
The fourth quarter would see Jones take over for the Raiders offensively, as well as more stiff defense, holding the Defenders to 25 percent in the final frame. Jones would score the first nine points of the quarter for Northwestern, the last three coming by way of an old fashioned three-point play and extending the lead to ten (64-54). Verbeek would continue to answer for Dordt, scoring eight in the final frame. With an eight-point lead VanderVelde would find Kemble for three pushing the lead to 69-58 with just over three minutes to play. The Raiders would continue to get stops on the defensive end and sealed up their 15th conference win.
Kemble (Sr., Panora, Iowa/Panorama) would lead the Raiders with 17 points, going a perfect five for five from beyond the arc. Jones (Jr., Twin Lakes, Iowa/South Central Calhoun) finished with 16 points, Cunningham (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) followed with 14 and finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine. VanderVelde (Sr., Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington) would wrap up the double-digit scorers with ten, she would also finish with a team high four assists to go along with six boards. Molly Schany (So., Emmetsburg, Iowa/Emmetsburg) would lead the Raiders on the glass with ten caroms for the game. Danner (Jr., Westside, Iowa/Ar-We-Va) would finish with an impressive three blocks.
Up Next: The Raiders will travel to Hastings College (14-13, 10-11 GPAC) to wrap up regular season play on Saturday, February 19, with tip-off set for 2:00 p.m.
