Was over at Northwestern’s Ericksen Center on this cold,
windy Tuesday evening to take in this clash between Macalester from the MIAC
and host Northwestern of the UMAC. The
Eagles have started this season so far on a solid note; notching wins against
Viterbo and UW-Stout at home this last weekend and hoped to extend that streak
against the Scots on this night.
Macalester, meanwhile, settled for a split on opening weekend; knocking
off St. Scholastica but dropping a 60-41 decision to UW-Superior the next day.
Before the game, senior guard Mollie Sir and fellow
senior Jessica Fife were recognized as Sir tallied her 1,000th point
of her Northwestern career last weekend and Fife had snared her 500th
rebound. Sir and junior Chanel Madson
are not only very good basketball players but also have an incredible knack for
belting out a tune as well as they did a sweet rendition of the National Anthem
before the tip-off (they did an encore performance before the men’s game as
well on this night).
Unfortunately for the Eagles, however, the sweet singing
duet did not translate into a sweet performance on the court in the first half
as the visiting Scots outhustled Northwestern for loose balls and utterly
pounded the Eagles on the boards in the first half by a total margin of 21-8. After Sir got the Eagles on the board first
with a jumper at the 17:27 mark, Macalester senior post Veronika Jakubovie got
the Scots going with consecutive scores and then a “3” by fellow senior Taylor
Pike extended the Macalester advantage to 9-4 at the 13:04 mark. Fife did connect with a one-handed jumper on
the right side at the 12:09 mark to briefly halt the Macalester parade but
reserve sophomore guard Katelyn Kack’s jumper at the 11:43 mark and an
offensive rebound and putback by freshman reserve Grace Dickman got the Scots
out to a 14-6 lead. Northwestern was
having considerable difficulty penetrating the paint against the Scots and the
2-3 zone defense the Eagles employed were not having the desired effects either
and Head Coach Aaron Kahl called a thirty second timeout to assess the
situation with his staff.
The Scots were not to be deterred for the time being and
extended their lead to as much as 18-6 thanks to a short jumper by Dickman and
an offensive rebound and putback by reserve freshman forward Park Masterson out
of Poway, California before Northwestern could finally mount an offensive. Sophomore forward Courtney Cunard connected
on a short jumper with 7:44 left and then Madson finally got untracked from
behind the arc as she nailed one of her patented three-point bombs with 7:05
left that cut the Macalester lead down to 18-11. Jakubovie connected with scores at the 6:18
and 3:18 marks that helped get the Scot lead back up to 22-14 but then Fife
banged home a “3” from the left top area with 2:41 left and then junior forward
Hannah Holm got the home crowd excited with a steal and lay-up the other way
with 2:14 left that suddenly had the Eagles to within three at 22-19. Macalester, though, would not wilt as the
Eagles threatened to steal all the momentum that the Scots had established early
on. Jakubovie; utilizing her height
advantage, scored inside with 2:03 left and with 1:26 left it was senior Emma
Leyden calmly knocking down a “3” from the right corner that once again had
Macalester up by eight at 27-19. Two
freebies from the charity stripe by Leyden would round out the scoring by the
Scots in the first half as the Eagles had one last gasp before the half. Madson muscled her 5’8” frame inside for a
lay-up with 1:13 left and Holm did likewise with a drive and finish with just
:32 left that had the Eagles looking at a six-point deficit at 29-23 going into
the locker room at the half. Not what
they had hoped for but a damn sight better than what they were looking at early
in the first half.
Macalester looked to be on their way again to
establishing some distance between themselves and their (too) gracious host at
the beginning of the second half as sophomore Erin Murray out of Sparta,
Wisconsin knocked down a long jumper just inside the arc from the left corner
that once again had the Scot lead back up to eight at 31-23. Now, however, Northwestern was quick to
respond and appeared to play with much more intensity and energy than they did
in the first half. Sir made a foray into
the lane to connect with a short jumper at the 17:58 mark. Holm maneuvered into the paint for a score at
the 16:10 mark and then connected with a jumper along the left baseline at the
15:42 mark that cut the Scot lead down to a slim 31-29 margin and Macalester
Head Coach Ellen Thompson wasted no time in calling a halt to the action to
talk about it with her team. Initially,
it looked as if whatever she said worked as the Scots once again built up some
cushion. Sophomore reserve post Abby
Purfeerst scored in the paint at the 14:32 mark and then Kack connected with a
jumper from the left corner at the 13:53 mark.
A freebie from the charity stripe by Kack had the Scots up again at
36-29 with 13:16 left and things were once again looking a little brighter for
the team in royal blue and orange.
Once again, however, the Eagles found the necessary ways
and means to claw their way right back into the thick of things – and then
some. Fife connected with a jumper from
the left elbow with 12:42 left and then it was a parade of Eagles to the
charity stripe that allowed them to chip away at the Macalester lead and
eventually tie the issue at 36-all when Fife made good on two free throws at
the 10:22 mark. Even more worrisome for
Macalester was that now Northwestern was in the bonus as well which only
complicated things for the Scots. Murray
would give Macalester one last brief flirting with victory when she drained a “3”
from the right corner at the 9:42 mark and a 39-36 Scot lead but a score in the
paint by Fife and two freebies by Sir after being fouled at the 8:24 mark
finally had Northwestern back in the lead at 40-39 for the first time when Sir
connected with that jumper early on.
Then Sir had the home crowd roaring as she swished a “3’ from the right corner
at the 6:59 mark for a 43-39 Eagle lead and her singing duet partner Madson
made some sweet music on the court as she connected with a lay-up and got
fouled in the process that sent her to the line for the obligatory freebie that
she made good on that now had the Eagles up by a score of 46-39.
Now it was the Eagles turn to try and withstand a Macalester
comeback. Another jumper from the left
elbow by Fife with 4:46 left kept the margin at seven at 48-41 but the Scots
were plotting one more push. A score in
the paint by reserve junior forward Annie Drabot and two free throws by Pike
had things down to a one possession game at 48-45 with 3:08 left – plenty of
time and no reason to break out the proverbial panic button. A jumper in the lane by reserve sophomore
post Jacki Smith upped the Eagle lead to 50-45 with 2:49 left but Macalester
would not go away just yet. Murray
connected with two free throws after being fouled in transition with 1:38 left
and a freebie by Pike cut the Eagle lead to 50-48 with 1:01 left. Nursing that two point lead, Northwestern
desperately tried to milk the game and shot clock down on their next possession
in hopes of drawing a foul but turned the ball over as the shot clock was set
to expire giving the Scots one last chance.
Macalester worked the ball around; looking for an opening of some kind –
any kind – that would give them a chance to either tie it or perhaps win
it. But the Eagles were incredibly tough
on defense and all over any potential shot opportunity. Finally, with :03 left on the clock, Pike was
forced to launch an off-balance “3” from the top that banged off the rim and was
quickly rebounded by Fife who was fouled and made two insurance free throws to
allow the Eagles to claim an exciting 52-48 win.
A relieved Aaron Kahl was able to laugh a bit afterward
saying, “We probably set the game of basketball back a couple of years by the
way we played in the first half!” But
Kahl acknowledged that his team had to rebound better in the second half and
they did that. “We had to get more
physical as well; we just had to come out with more intensity and energy in the
second half.” A disappointed Thompson
didn’t have a lot to add afterward and you could detect her
disappointment. “We just didn’t knock
down shots” she said.
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