Northwestern College was outscored 46-24 in the second half as they lost to 14th-ranked Morningside 75-62 New Year’s Eve night in GPAC women’s basketball played in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Raiders five-game win streak is snapped as they are now 5-4 in the GPAC, 5-7 overall. Morningside improves it GPAC-leading mark to 8-1, 10-2 overall.
Molly Schany continued her outstanding freshman campaign with 21 points and nine rebounds in perhaps her best game in a Raider uniform to date. Schany, who is among the GPAC leaders in field goal percentage, made 10-of-12 field goal attempts against the Mustangs. Sammy Blum added 12 points, nine coming from the three-point line, and Devyn Kemble scored all nine of her points from beyond the arc.
Up by nine (38-29) at halftime, Kemble drained a three-pointer on the Raiders first possession of the second half to give her team their largest lead, 41-29. Morningside responded with an 11-2, fueled by the long-range shooting from Sierra Mitchell (23pts) and Sophia Peppers (26pts, 11 rebounds), who combined to make nine three-pointers, seven during the final half.
Northwestern held off the rally for a bit as a Blum three-pointer put the Raiders back in front by five (48-43) with three minutes left in the third quarter. The host Mustangs, however, outscored Northwestern 13-2 on three straight three-pointers from Mitchell (2) and Peppers (1) to take the lead for good, 56-50, at the end of the third quarter. Northwestern would not get closer than eight during the final period.
The Raiders shot 39% for the game, 28% (8/29) from long-range, and uncharacteristically struggled from the free throw line (4/8). It was a tale of two halves as Northwestern shot 46% in the first half but was held to 31% over the final 20 minutes. Head Coach Chris Yaw’s squad outrebounded Morningside 43-32, led by Schany (9) and both Emilee Danner and Alexis Toering with seven. Maddie Jones dished out a career-high seven assists.
Morningside shot 44% for the game but 50% in the second half; they were even better from beyond the arc, shooting 46% for the game and 53% over the final 20 minutes. Mitchell tallied six assists for the Mustangs.
