Fifth-ranked Northwestern took down No.15 Dordt 91-84 in a tense, physical match-up between ranked teams match-up played tonight at the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders pushed their win streak to five games, improving to 4-1 in the conference, 8-1 overall.
Kassidy De Jong led the Red Raiders with 28 points, 23 coming in the first half, and grabbed 10 boards for her fourth double-double of the season. Sammy Blum scored 16 of her career-high 19 points in the second half and both Haley Birks and Darbi Gustafson contributed 16 points each.
With the game tied at 51 early in the third quarter, two free throws by Jada Cunningham capped a 10-2 Northwestern run to put the hosts up for good (61-53). Blum knocked down the first of her three three-pointers minutes later to increase the Red Raider lead to 11 (66-55) and they held a nine-point advantage at the third quarter break.
Another three-pointer by Blum put the Red Raiders in front 78-65, matching their largest lead early in the fourth quarter. Dordt managed to get within five down the stretch but free throws by De Jong, Blum and Birks in the final minute sealed it for the hosts.
Northwestern shot 44% for the game, 22% (4/18) from the three-point line. Both teams grabbed 46 rebounds with the Red Raiders holding a 19-15 edge on the offensive glass. Cunningham matched her career-best with six assists.
The Red Raiders opened the game with the first four points only to have Dordt outscore the hosts 20-8 over the next six minutes for a 20-12 advantage, their largest lead of the game. Northwestern closed the quarter with a 9-3 run and trailed 23-21 by the end of the first period after a basket by Birks.
Northwestern scored the first six points of the second quarter to cap a 15-3 run and led 27-23 on a basket by De Jong. Coach Yaw’s squad increased their lead to eight (45-37) with three minutes left and held a 49-46 advantage at the break.
Dordt shot 46% for the game, 20% (4/20) from beyond the arc, and was led by Erika Feenstra with a game-high 43 points. The sophomore made 17-of-22 field goal attempts and missed a double-double by one rebound. Rachel Evavold added 13 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
Northwestern will host Briar Cliff on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 2pm.
