Because of the 5:00 P.M. start, I had some extra time on my hand after the St. Kate's - UST game that allowed me to make a couple of stops before I made my way over to the Ericksen Center to catch this UMAC clash between visiting Crown College and host Northwestern. This would be my first look at Crown since their early season game at St. Kate's and, of course, the Crown program was rocked shortly after the first of the year with the arrest of then-Head Coach Ryan Chmielewski. Since then, the Storm has been coached by Luke Hebert. Northwestern, meanwhile, claimed a huge 81-74 home win the night before against Minnesota-Morris that created a 4-way logjam for first place in the UMAC so it would be important for the Eagles to keep the beat going and come out and play with intensity in a game were they were heavily favored to win.
Northwestern senior guard Mollie Sir and junior guard Chanel Madson did another great rendition of the National Anthem at the beginning. Crown, though, managed to stay close early on and actually led at the start on a drive and finish in the lane by freshman guard Taylor Dubberke at the 19:00 mark. Northwestern would come right back and stake a 5-2 lead on a "3" by sophomore forward Courtney Cunard out of Missouri Valley, Iowa at the 17:00 mark but a "3" by sophomore guard Michelle Hyde of Crown at the 16:53 mark tied the issue at 5 a piece. The Storm would keep things tight and trailed only 11-10 at the 15:24 mark after a lay-up by freshman Desiree Davis that got her fouled in the process and allowed her to sink the obligatory free throw. Slowly but surely, the Eagles would open things up offensively and they were able to do it in a variety of ways. Sir got the attack going with a jumper from the left baseline at the 15:10 mark and followed that up shortly with a "3" from the left corner for a 16-10 lead at the 14:44 mark. The lead expanded to 19-10 by the 14:06 mark when sophomore reserve forward Kim Campbell connected with a lay-up in transition and a Campbell "3" from the left corner at the 13:34 mark kept the margin at nine with Northwestern up 22-13.
The pace picked up on both sides from a scoring standpoint; so much so that yours truly had trouble keeping up with everything :) . Madson put on a clinic with "3's" at the 11:21 mark and again with 9:16 left that sandwiched a drive into the lane and finish before that. Dubberke knocked down two treys herself for Crown - one with 8:57 left from the right top and again with 8:34 left that had the Storm still with a lot of fighting spirit but unable to slow the drive of the Eagles as they continued to bombard Crown with an array of three-point shooting. With Northwestern up 34-23, junior forward Hannah Holm upped it to 36-23 with 5:37 left on a lay-up and the Charlotte, North Carolina native then drilled a "3" from the right top area with 5:04 left that put the Eagles up by fifteen at 39-24. Freshman reserve guard Tiffany Stubbs also decided to get in on the act as she drained a "3" from the right wing area with 4:17 left for a 43-24 Northwestern lead. Campbell went off down the stretch again; nailing "3's" with 2:50 and 1:34 left and she also added one free throw with :59.6 left. Madson knocked down two more charity stripe shots with :29.4 left and the Eagles had exploded to a 52-33 halftime lead.
Northwestern came out with both barrels a blazin' once the second half got underway as well. And it was Sir, the Cresco, Iowa native, who did the firing early on. She drained a "3" from the left corner at the 19:20 mark for a 55-33 and then the gunslinger wearing #40 in white did repeat performances at the 18:45 and 17:47 marks that had the cotton in the Northwestern basket smokin'. Seemingly overshadowed in this downtown bombing display by the Eagles was senior post Jessica Fife; normally relied upon when Northwestern needs that inside presence but she didn't disappoint either as points in the paint by the former Osseo standout at the 17:01 and 15:53 marks had the Eagles up comfortably 67-40. Another three-point bomb by Holm increased the margin to thirty at 70-40 at the 14:53 mark before Crown reserve freshman guard Avanel Smithe was able to make a couple of punches for the Storm; a score in the paint at the 14:21 mark and a "3" from the right wing at the 14:18 mark but Northwestern had long ago ran away with a cushion and then some.
The big lead for Northwestern allowed Head Coach Aaron Kahl to experiment with his reserves to give them an opportunity to shine as well and they did. Stubbs drove into the lane for a drive and finish at the 12:26 mark and freshman reserve forward Emily VanLith was able to snare an offensive rebound for a putback at the 11:26 mark for a 74-49 lead. The Eagles were able to maintain that thirty-point cushion coming down the stretch despite occasional Crown scores from both Dubberke and Davis; as the Storm was still working hard to capitalize on any scoring opportunities they could get. With the outcome all but decided, Campbell connected on a lay-up in transition with 5:08 left that got Northwestern a 90-57 lead as the Eagles flirted with hitting the century mark. Freshman reserve post Rachel Hart got into the books with a score in the paint with 3:20 left for a 93-62 Eagle lead and then Jadyn Holm (not listed on the Northwestern roster) connected with a jumper from the right elbow area with 1:55 left for a 95-66 lead. Another Eagle player not listed on the roster (Lily Grothe) also maneuvered into the paint for a score with :39 left to make the final margin 97-68.
A very pleased and happy Kahl soaked in the big wins gained this weekend with this victory. Sir led the way with 17 points while both Campbell and Madson poured in 16 and Holm added 14. I made the point to Kahl that the team not only did the job from behind the arc but the found other ways to score and, perhaps even more important, dominated in one category on this day that has been something of a sore spot for them at times - rebounding. Kahl was agreeable but was quick to point out one area that still needs work - defense. "Still a weakness" he said. Nevertheless, I still have to think the Eagles are well-positioned at this point and still the odds-on favorite to come out on top of the UMAC when the dust settles. With this one under the belt, Kahl was now pointing ahead to the big game next Friday night up at Duluth against St. Scholastica. "A huge game for us" Kahl pointed out.
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