Made the short hop from Augsburg over to nearby North Central for my very first visit to Clark-Danielson Gymnasium for this important UMAC contest between crosstown Northwestern and host North Central. I got in and settled shortly after tip-off with Northwestern holding a 2-0 advantage.
North Central would set the tempo in the first half and they had the Eagles reeling; looking for some sort of solution to the multi-faceted Ram attack. Sophomore Shelby Norman got the home team going with a lay-up in transition at the 16:19 mark and then senior guard Julia Skeesick out of Chaska connected with a "3" from the top of the key at the 15:53 mark for a 5-2 Ram lead. Sophomore forward Jamie High knocked down a jumper at the 15:25 mark to increase the lead to 7-2 and then Skeesick again drained a "3" from the left wing area for a 10-2 North Central lead. Northwestern's shar-shooting senior guard Mollie Sir helped bring the Eagles to within three by the 12:36 mark with a "3" from the left corner at the 14:18 mark and then a jumper in the lane at the 12:36 mark but North Central sophomore guard Tara Jefferson hit a jumper in the lane with 12:19 left to get the Rams up by five at 12-7 and Northwestern Head Coach Aaron Kahl; not liking what he was seeing early on, called a timeout to discuss things with his squad.
The remainder of the first half seemed to resemble a three-point shooting contest to see who could hit the most treys. Sir and sophomore teammate Courtney Cunard kept the Eagles close with their three-point bombs but they could never get their nose out in front in the first half as North Central was always able to counter any Eagle maneuver. With the Rams holding a slim 16-14 advantage, senior guard Jorie Grenell drained a "3" from the left corner with 7:30 left and then Grenell connected with a jumper from the left wing with 6:22 left to maintain that five-point lead. High then uncorked a "3" from the right top area are with 6:01 left to up the Ram lead to 25-19. Again, Northwestern would edge closer behind a "3" from freshman Tiffany Stubbs from the left top area along with a sweet running jumper in transition from the left side by Sir that helped get the Eagles to within one trailing 25-24. Grenell would drain yet another "3" for the Rams from the left corner with 3:51 mark that seemed to get North Central going again and she followed that with an encore performance at the 3:03 mark for a 31-27 Ram lead. Two scores from the Eagles, though, tied the issue at 31 a piece but a score in the paint from High along with yet another Grenell "3"; this one from the left corner with 1:28 left gave North Central a five-point 36-31 advantage. But two scores from Northwestern senior reserve forward Hannah Holm - a jumper with 1:15 left and a three-pointer from the left corner with :36 left knotted the issue at 36-all going into the locker room at the halftime break.
Whatever may have ailed the Eagles in the first half certainly were remedied during the halftime break and Northwestern quickly took control once the second half got underway. Junior guard Chanel Madson connected on a lay-up at the 19:13 mark and, after a free throw by senior forward/post Jessica Fife who had unusually quiet from a scoring standpoint in the first half, Holm then knocked down a "3" from the left wing off of an inbounds pass at the 18:13 mark that suddenly had Northwestern up 42-36. The Rams tried to answer behind a spectacular "3" from Norman off the glass that got her fouled and allowed her to sink the obligatory freebie but Northwestern would not be deterred. Fife was beginning to establish herself in the paint and she scored inside at the 16:42 mark that got her fouled in the process and she made good on the ensuing charity stripe shot. With the Eagles holding a five point 47-42 lead, sophomore reserve forward Courtney Cunard out of Missouri Valley, Iowa drilled a "3" from the left wing and she followed that up with two free throws after being fouled in a transition attempt that gave Northwestern a double-digit 52-42 lead that they would not relinquish. Stubbs also nailed a "3" from the left top area at the 12:11 mark and a score in the paint by lanky 6'2" reserve junior post Jacki Smith made it a 57-43 game. A "3" from Sir from the left top area with 10:58 left had Northwestern up 60-45 and North Central Head Coach Jeff Grenell had seen enough to know it was time to call a timeout.
Northwestern had not only found themselves again by this point but they were also slowly wearing down the North Central team as well. Still, this North Central team is much, much better than the teams they have fielded in the past and they had no intention of going away quietly into the night. A "3" from the left corner by Skeesick with 9:54 left along with a "3" from Grenell from the right top area along with Skeesicks's jumper from the right elbow with 6:39 left kept the Rams' spirit up but they would not catch Northwestern on this afternoon. A lay-up from Grenell with 6:23 left along with a drive and finish from High with 5:10 left allowed North Central to whittle away at the Northwestern advantage but the Eagles would always have an answer. A drive and finish by sophomore reserve forward Kim Campbell with 4:43 left and a score in the paint by the always-reliable Fife kept the margin safe for Northwestern. Fife answered the call again with 2:40 left on a lay-up and both Holm and Madson put the finishing touches on this game with scores in the last minute as Northwestern secured an important 81-69 UMAC victory.
A relieved Kahl said afterward that they had to get Fife more involved from an offensive standpoint as she has so many different ways of making an impact. Also important for them according to Kahl was getting into more transition opportunities. With this victory, the Eagles now stand 9-3 overall and clearly look to be the best team in the UMAC at the moment. Though still very early (and Kahl certainly won't allow his team to get comfortable or look ahead), you have to think that Northwestern would be the odds-on favorite to win the regular-season and UMAC Tournament championships that would give them a ticket to the Big Dance.
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