The second womens game of the tourney featured UMAC also-ran North Central University against host Northwestern. To be honest, I initially feared this might have the makings of a boring blow-out and, although Northwestern would wind up winning comfortably enough, the first few minutes were, as General Birkhalter from "Hogan's Heroes" would say, "Verry interesting". North Central, starting out in man-to-man "D", got out to a quick 4-0 lead and, although Northwestern would respond to briefly take the lead at 5-4, North Central would go on a 9-0 run over nearly a 3-minute span that gave North Central a 13-5 lead at the 12:28 mark. Even worse for Northwestern, Allison Johnson picked up two quick fouls early on that sent her to the bench. But North Central would not be able to sustain the early charge they came out with. Even more important, Northwestern had standout senior Katie DeWitt back for this game and the Eagles wasted little time in getting things going again. Throw in reserve Kristin Sczublewski as well and the Eagles suddenly used their superior athleticism to go on a 16-0 run just under the 9 minute mark when things were still tight. All this enabled Northwestern to grab a 37-20 halftime lead.
DeWitt was in no mood to slow down once the second half began. Wanting to make up for her absence the other night against Hamline, she took over the game for the Eagles; scoring easy inside baskets and finishing break opportunities. The highlight of the evening came when, on a Northwestern fast break, Sczublewski threw a behind the back pass to an open teammate that resulted in an easy bucket but also made the crowd roar with approval. Even though Johnson fouled out for Northwestern at the 8:38 mark in this game, she made a real impact on the rebounding front for the Eagles. She still wears a protective device on the left wrist that was broken nearly a year ago. Northwestern would win this one easily 76-58 and now advances to tomorrow night's title game against UW-River Falls.
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