The Northwestern College women’s basketball team looks to extend its win streak when they host Briar Cliff in a conference game Wednesday night, Jan. 20.
Tip-off at the Bultman Center is scheduled for 6pm. Winners of four straight, the Raiders sit alone in fifth place in the GPAC with a 9-5 conference record, 9-8 overall. Briar Cliff has won four of its last five games and is second in the current league standings at 11-4, 13-5 overall.
Earlier this season Sammy Blum netted a game-high 19 points in leading Northwestern to a 59-50 win over then unbeaten Briar Cliff on Dec.2 in Sioux City. Blum carried the offense in the first half, scoring 16 in the opening frame, while Molly Schany contrbuted all 11 of her points in the second half for the Raiders.
Down four (47-43), Northwestern outscored the host Chargers 16-3 over the final five minutes to decide the game’s fate. Dialed in on defense for the entire 40 minutes, the Raiders held Briar Cliff to just 1/9 shooting down the stretch.
The Chargers shot 25% for the game and from beyond the arc (4/16), led by Konnor Sudmann with 14 points. Madelyn Deitchler added a double-double, 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Chargers defeated Midland 75-53 last time out to record their fourth win in their last five games. They are currently in second place in the tight GPAC standings with an 11-4 record, 1/2 game up on third place Concordia. Briar Cliff is 13-5 overall; their other wins of late are against Mount Marty, Hastings and Doane with a loss to first place Morningisde.
Hired in the spring of 2020, Hand is in her first season as the Chargers head coach after a stint as an assistant with William Penn. She also has served as an assistant within the Truman State and Illinois College programs. She inherited a BCU squad that returns three starters, six players, that finished tied with Midland for eighth in the GPAC at 8-14, 11-19 overall, last year.
The Raiders continued its win streak last weekend with a 76-39 dismantling of Doane in a GPAC contest played in Crete, Neb. Northwestern earned its fourth straight win and is alone in fifth place in the GPAC standings with a 9-5 record, 1/2 game in back of Dordt. They are 9-8 overall.
