I made the short hop from Bethel's Robertson Center over to Northwestern's Ericksen Center to catch what I could of the 3:00 P.M. game between visiting Crown and host Northwestern. I got settled in right before halftime with Crown holding a 30-28 lead.
Given the fact that Crown came into this contest with a 3-21 record (3-10 in UMAC play), I had pretty much assumed that the Eagles would have been cruising along to an easy win on this Senior Day that honored seniors Chanel Madson and Jacki Smith. Instead, the Storm, playing with nothing to lose, was giving Northwestern fits and the Eagles; trailing 30-26 in the last minute of first half play, got a bit reprieve when freshman reserve guard Jessica Cole connected on a lay-up with :22 left to narrow the deficit to two points trailing 30-28. Maybe it was the hangover Northwestern was experiencing over last night's thrilling win over UM-Morris that left them emotionally depleted. Maybe it was because the Eagles simply took Crown a bit lightly on this day. In any event, Northwestern needed to come out in the second half with a renewed determination, intensity and a sense of urgency as well once the second half got underway. And the Eagles did just that. Smith got into the paint for a score at the 19:48 mark that knotted the score at 30-all and sophomore guard Tiffany Stubbs put Northwestern up for good with her drive and finish at the 19:19 mark. A Madson "3" from the right wing at the 18:40 mark had the Eagles up 35-30 and Storm Head Coach Kevin Boozikee; sensing that things were getting out of hand for his squad, called a timeout to assess the situation and to get his team calmed down. But Northwestern would put the finishing touches on this all-important 10-0 burst when the lanky Smith uncorked a "3" from the left top area and got fouled in the process as well and although the ensuing freebie attempt missed its intended mark, the Eagles now possessed a 38-30 advantage and the tide had clearly turned. Crown, with its back now to the wall, tried to make inroads on the deficit. Sophomore guard Jessica Klaustermeier connected with a lay-up at the 16:50 mark and fellow sophomore guard Desiree Davis knocked down a short jumper at the 15:52 mark that narrowed Northwestern's lead to 39-34. But back-to-back Madson treys - one from the right top area at the 15:01 mark and another from the left top area at the 14:31 mark - now had the Eagles up 45-34 and Boozikee had to burn his second timeout for the Storm.
Two free throws by freshman post Madison Stricklin briefly had the Storm back in single-digit range; trailing 45-36 at the 13:34 mark but two free throws by Cole at the 13:05 mark and a score in the paint by sophomore reserve forward Emily Van Lith increased Northwestern's lead to 49-36 at the 12:23 mark. Two free throws by junior forward Kim Campbell at the 10:33 mark and an offensive rebound and putback of a missed lay-up in transition by Cole at the 10:11 mark now made it a fifteen-point lead at 53-38. A score in the paint by junior post Regan Cooper maintained the fifteen-point cushion at 55-40 and the collective frustration on the Crown team began spilling over when Boozikee had an animated discussion with the officials on some of the calls and no-calls being made. Back-to-back scores by Davis - one free throw with 5:55 left and a drive and finish off of an inbounds pass with 5:42 left - cut the Eagles lead down to eleven at 57-46 but a Stubbs "3" from the left corner with 5:29 left jumped the Northwestern lead back up to fourteen at 60-46 and the Storm simply was unable to mount a consistent offensive threat. Davis did get one charity stripe to go down with 3:56 left and a "3" by freshman guard Andrea Besa from the right top area did get the deficit back down to ten trailing 62-52 but the Eagles were able to make one last step on the gas pedal to secure the victory. Madson connected with a lay-up in transition with 2:29 left for a 64-52 lead and then the Westbrook native connected on a lay-up in transition with 1:38 left that got her fouled as well. The obligatory freebie sealed Crown's fate and free throws in the waning seconds gave the Eagles a 71-56 win - and a share of the UMAC regular season title as well with UM-Morris. More importantly, the win also gives Northwestern the number one seed in the upcoming UMAC Playoffs this next week.
A very happy celebratory Eagle Head Coach Aaron Kahl explained that he told his team to loosen up and play its game and have fun out there in the second half - and it worked. Kahl felt that his team was perhaps a bit uptight after the hard-fought victory over UM-Morris on Friday night but, to their credit, the Eagles responded with a big second half; especially Madson. Now the UMAC Playoffs loom ahead and Northwestern will be hosting Martin Luther; a team the Eagles swept during the regular season. I asked Kahl how big that is taking on a team for a third time in a season and Kahl shrugged off any notion that his Northwestern team would be prohibitive favorites. "It's the playoffs now!" Kahl responded.
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