The Northwestern women’s basketball team closed the first half with a 17-2 run to propel the Raiders to a 69-59 home win over Briar Cliff in a GPAC match-up played Wednesday night at the Bultman Center.
Northwestern extends its win streak to five games and moves into sole possession of fourth place in the current GPAC standings with a 10-5 record, 10-8 overall. Briar Cliff drops to 11-5 in the conference, 13-6 overall.
Sammy Blum, one of three Raiders to score in double figures, netted 16 points while Molly Schany and Taylor VanderVelde contributed 13 and 12 points respectively. Northwestern shot 44% for the game, 37% (7/19) from the three-point line, and continued its stellar effort on the defensive end, limiting Briar Cliff to 33% from the field, 10% (2/19) from the arc.
Leading by two (23-21), Schany scored consecutive field goals in the paint to begin a 17-2 run over the final six minutes to put Northwestern in front 40-23 at the half. The Raiders held Briar Cliff without a field goal as the Chargers missed their final 10 shot attempts during the decisive run.
An Emilee Danner jumper pushed the Raiders lead to as much as 20 in the third quarter before the Chargers trimmed the hosts lead down to 12 by quarters end, 54-42.
A basket by VanderVelde and two free throws put Northwestern back in front by 14 (60-46) early in the fourth but Briar Cliff made one last charge, scoring the next seven points to get within seven (60-53) after a three-pointer by Kennedy Benne with 5:40 left. Blum knocked down a corner three-pointer to end the Chargers run and a lay-up from Alexis Toering pushed the hosts lead back to double digits where it stayed for the final three-plus minutes.
VanderVelde pulled down seven rebounds and matched her season high with six assists; both Schany and Blum dished out three assists each.
Briar Cliff was led by Madelyn Deitchler with 22 points and nine rebounds, followed by Konnor Sudmann with 15 points. The Chargers held the edge on the boards, 44-40, pulling down 18 on the offensive end.
