The Northwestern College women’s basketball team came up just short in its 81-76 setback to Concordia in a conference match-up played this afternoon at the Bultman Center.
Northwestern falls to 5-5 in the GPAC, 5-8 overall; Concordia improves to 9-3 in the conference, 10-5 overall.
The game featured several long scoring runs by both teams with the final one, an 8-0 surge by the visiting Bulldogs, proving to be the difference.
Trailing by 18 late (67-49) in the third quarter, Northwestern junior guard Taylor VanderVelde scored the final four points of the period and began a colossal rally by the hosts. Molly Schany followed with eight straight points to bring the Raiders within six, 67-61, with seven minutes left. Still down eight moments later (72-64), Northwestern began a 9-0 run, finished off with a jumper by Sammy Blum, to give the Raiders their first lead since the second quarter, 73-72, with two minutes left.
Concordia responded right back, however, with three pointers from Mackenzie Koepke and Taysha Rushton, who also hit two free throws at the end of the run to seal the Bulldogs win.
VanderVelde was outstanding for the Raiders, scoring a career-high 18 points to go with nine rebounds and three assists. Both Schany and Blum scored 12 and Jazy Prins matched her career-best with 11 points coming off the Raider bench.
Northwestern shot 44% from the field, 30% (8/27) from the three-point line. Both teams totaled 41 rebounds and were effective on the offensive glass (Northwestern – 14, Concordia – 17).
Rushton was the Bulldogs’ top scorer, netting a game-high 28 points, 18 from beyond the arc. Taylor Cockerill netted 14 and Rebecca Higgins contributed 11 off the bench. Concordia made 16 three-pointers, shooting 40% from beyond the arc, and shot 41% for the game.
Northwestern trailed by one (18-17) at the end of the first quarter but surged ahead by as many as six (27-21) after a 10-3 run to start the second quarter. Devyn Kemble drained a couple of three-pointers and VanderVelde added four points during the surge. With the Raiders up five, 32-27, Concordia scored the final 13 points of the first half to grab a 40-32 advantage.
