Made the trek over to the Ericksen Center on this cold
Friday evening to take in this intriguing IIAC – UMAC clash between visiting
Luther College out of my home state of Iowa in Decorah and host
Northwestern. The Norse were coming into
this contest with a rather impressive 7-1 record with victories over some very
solid programs including UW-Eau Claire and St. Olaf while the Eagles had a
solid 5-3 record with losses to some very good teams (GAC and UW-Superior) –
but some good wins as well to boot (UW-Stout, Buena Vista). Not knowing much about Luther, I really
wasn’t sure how this game would unfold but, in the end, I was sure glad I came.
The sweet-singing backcourt duo of the Eagles in senior
Mollie Sir and junior Chanel Madson got this night going with another great
rendition of the National Anthem. And,
early on anyway, the Eagles were grooving as they built an 8-2 lead by the
16:22 mark fueled by baskets from Madson, senior forward/post Jessica Fife and
willowy junior forward Hannah Holm. But
this game would be marked by runs and changes of momentum throughout. And it wouldn’t take Luther long to go on
their own little 6-0 run. Senior forward
Taylor Johnson’s offensive rebound and putback at the 15:21 mark; a jumper from
the left corner by freshman reserve Haley Kirkpatrick and two charity stripe
shots by sophomore point guard Tayler Jenks knotted the issue at 8-all at the
14:10 mark. After the Eagles had
regained an edge by a score of 11-8 by the 13:15 mark, the Norse answered with
another 6-0 push that gave Luther its first lead at 14-11 with 11:31 left.
The lead would change hands four more times before the
halftime break as neither side could gain a discernable advantage. Madson uncorked a “3” at the 10:27 mark from
the right top area and Sir would get her first trey of the night some five
minutes later. A drive into the paint
and finish by Missouri Valley, Iowa native sophomore Courtney Cunard with 3:54
left had the Eagles up 25-21 but this is where Luther embarked on a 12-4 run to
close out the first half. Kirkpatrick
scored on a lay-up with 3:42 left and a drive into the paint and finish by
senior reserve guard Logan Hjerleid tied the game at 25-all. Then it was Jenks’ “3” from the left wing
area with 1:30 left and a “3” from senior backcourt mate Lyndsi Woolems from
the left corner with :38 left. Senior
forward Nellie Nelson’s lay-up in transition after an Eagle turnover allowed
the Norse to take a 33-29 lead into the locker room.
Northwestern had been employing a 2-3 zone on defense in
hopes of neutralizing the Luther “bigs” and it appeared to be paying dividends
in the opening minutes of the second half as the Eagles sought to regain the
lead and momentum. Two scores in the
paint by Fife along with a drive and finish along the left baseline by Holm and
an offensive rebound and putback by Cunard had Northwestern back up by a score
of 37-33 by the 17:10 mark. But again
Luther responded to eventually tie the issue at 39-all by the 13:36 mark. With the score tied at 43-all with 10:25 left
the Norse again sought to spoil things for the home crowd as the went on
another 6-0 spree behind the heroics of Hjerleid as her scores at the 9:31 and
9:02 marks prompted Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl to call a timeout as his
Eagles were now looking at a 49-43 deficit.
To make matters worse, Northwestern had been struggling
mightily from the perimeter as neither Sir nor Madson could find the range from
behind the arc. With things beginning to
look bleak for Northwestern, trailing by a score of 53-46 with 6:40 left, the
sweet-singing duet magically found their touch when the Eagles needed it
most. Sir nailed a “3” from the left
wing area with 5:56 left and then Madson did likewise from the right wing with
5:25 left that sliced the Norse lead down to 55-52. Two free throws by Luther’s senior forward
Taylor Johnson out of La Crosse, Wisconsin momentarily had the Norse back up by
five with 4:58 left but then Sir, showing why she has to be one of the top
guards in the UMAC, calmly drained back-to-back momentum-breaking “3’s” – one
from the top of the key with 4:21 left and another from the right top area with
3:46 left – that had the home crowd going wild as Northwestern had once again
claimed the lead in stunning fashion by a 58-57 count. After a thirty-second timeout by Kahl to
discuss strategy, the Eagles looked to consolidate with this late run and
Madson drained a “3” from the left wing area with 2:18 left that now had the
Eagles up 61-57 and Luther looked doomed.
Ah, but the late-game fireworks were just getting started
at Ericksen Center as the Norse calmly but assuredly battled their way right
back. Sophomore reserve guard Amanda
Busta maneuvered her 5’6” frame into the paint for a score with 1:56 left and
then Johnson knocked down a jumper near the charity stripe with 1:22 left after
the Norse were able to get a much-needed stop that tied the game at
61-all. On the next Luther possession
with just under a minute remaining, Hjerleid made a strong move to the rim for
a lay-up attempt but Cunard of Northwestern got a piece of the shot and, in the
ensuing scramble for the loose ball, Busta was able to somehow grab control for
a putback attempt that got her fouled by Sir.
Busta then made good on her two freebie attempts that pushed the Norse
back out in front 63-61. On their next
possession, the Eagles turned the ball over with :35 left trailing by two and
looked finished. Johnson was fouled by
Fife but could not convert on the obligatory free throw and now the Eagles had
one more shot at forcing OT.
Northwestern patiently worked the ball around with time ticking down;
looking for the best opportunity. Fife
finally got free just enough where she took the pass to her and made her move
to the rim where she was fouled by Nelson – apparently before the shot went in; with :05.1 left on the clock; much to the chagrin of Kahl. Fife, however, missed her first free throw
attempt and now things changed drastically from a Northwestern standpoint. In fact, confusion reigned after Fife’s miss
as Cunard snared the errant freebie for a putback that had the Northwestern
crowd going nuts. Alas, it was a
two-shot situation. Kahl called another
timeout to discuss what the Eagles obviously had to do – have Fife intentionally
miss the second free throw attempt. Fife
did just that but somehow in the army of bodies underneath the basket, Holm
somehow grabbed the loose ball and impossibly put up a putback attempt that got
her fouled by Jenks with :00.1 left on the clock! It was now or never for the Eagles but the
junior from Charlotte, North Carolina; with the weight of the world on her
young shoulders, calmly knocked down both attempts that tied things at
63-all. Luther was unable to do anything
with the millisecond left and we were headed to overtime!
Luther Head Coach Amanda Bailey; determined not to let
another opportunity for victory slip through the Norse’s fingers again, had her squad come out firing on all cylinders
in the extra session. Sophomore reserve
guard Kylie Romeo out of Moline, Illinois nailed a “3” from the left wing with
3:51 left that had Luther back out in front 66-63. On the next Norse possession, Jenks let loose
with a three-point bomb from the right corner with 3:08 left and, just like
that, Luther appeared in command with a 69-63 advantage. But this resourceful Northwestern squad
refused to lay down, just as they had in regulation when things looked utterly
bleak. Madson knocked down a “3” from
the left top area with 2:53 left that chopped the Norse lead in half. After getting another big stop the Eagles
continued with their assault. And it
would be a score by Fife in the paint with 1:30 left that brought Northwestern
to within one trailing 69-68. Luther,
when they needed shots to drop at the most critical stage, simply could not buy
a basket but a lot of the credit has to go to Fife who battled incredibly hard
against a bigger Luther front line all night long. On the next Eagle possession, Cunard was
fouled and her two freebies put the Eagles up for good by a 70-69 count. Another failed Luther possession and another
Fife rebound finally gave Northwestern a chance to close this thing out and
they did it in the most unlikely fashion as freshman reserve guard Tiffany
Stubbs got loose in the paint for a clinching score with :11 left that now had
the Eagles up 72-69. Luther had one more
shot to try and force a second overtime but a three-point attempt by Woolems
with just :06 left missed its mark and Northwestern claimed an exhilarating 72-69
home win over a very solid IIAC opponent.
An emotionally-drained but happy Kahl gave his never-say-die
squad a ton of credit for hanging in there when things did not look good in the
second half. He heaped a ton of praise
on Fife; pointing out her double-double on this night which consisted of 19
points and 20 rebounds as the senior from Osseo battled incredibly hard on this
night. A physically tired but very happy
Fife was her usual happy, humble self afterward. “After I missed that first free throw, I didn’t
want to think that I had lost the game…..We just found a way and Hannah (Holm)
was awesome with that rebound after I had to miss the second.” Both Kahl and Fife agreed how a win like this
was important going forward; not only in the New Year’s tournament they will be
participating in but also going into UMAC play as well. And I think, if you look at how the UMAC is
shaping up already, you would have to think that this is Northwestern’s year to
take the conference and have a shot at getting to the NCAA Tournament.
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