Northwestern College handed Briar Cliff its first loss of the season, 59-50, in a Great Plains Athletic Conference women’s basketball match-up played tonight in Sioux City. The Raiders picked up their first win, improving to 1-3 in the GPAC, 1-6 overall. Briar Cliff is now 4-1 in the conference, 6-1 overall.
Sammy Blum netted a season-high 19 points, 16 in the first half, and Molly Schany, who battled foul trouble all game, scored all 11 of her points in the second half to lead the Raiders. Blum, on her fourth three-pointer of the first half, scored her 1,000th career point and became the 35th player in program history to reach the scoring milestone.
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.
Devyn Kemble knocked down a three-pointer to get the run started, followed by a three-point play by Schany and lay-up by Maddie Jones to go up 51-47. Another basket by Schany put Head Coach Chris Yaw’s squad up six before a Briar Cliff three-pointet cut the lead in half, 53-50, with 2:41 left. A basket by Schany and four straight free throws by Jones sealed the victory.
Northwestern shot 35% from the field, 32% (7/22) from the three-point line, and went 14/15 from the free throw line. The Raiders totaled a season-high 13 steals, four by Jones, who also dished out four assists. Taylor VanderVelde grabbed eight boards and both Alexis Toering and Schany pulled down seven rebounds.
Blum carried the Raider offense early, knocking down three three-pointers to give her team a 15-11 advantage by the end of the first quarter. A three-pointer by Jada Cunningham and basket by Toering put Northwestern in front 23-17 by the halfway point of the second quarter. The Raiders led by five, 30-25, at the half.
Blum’s final three-pointer gave Northwestern an eight-point lead, 33-25, early in the third, only to have Briar Cliff go on an 11-1 run to take their first lead, 36-35, since early in the first quarter.
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.
