The Northwestern women’s basketball team fell 75-62 against NAIA No. 1 Morningside on Wednesday, Jan. 21. The Raiders skid to a 5-6 record in the GPAC and 11-9 overall.
The Raiders saw themselves in an early 7-0 hole, but fought back to bring the score to a single point following a layup by junior guard Megan VanDerSloot. The Raiders saw their first lead of the night after a layup from junior post Arianne Gesell just under the four-minute mark of the first half. The teams exchanged baskets in the final minute of the first half that gave Morningside a slim 34-33 edge at the break.
The Mustangs came out of the break on a 8-1 run. NW countered with a surge that was capped off by a three-point shot from junior guard Katy Kuiper that brought the score to 55-50 in favor of Morningside. At the seven-minute mark, Morningside scored 12 consecutive points to give them a 67-50 advantage that proved to be too much for NW to overcome.
Senior guard Karen Ettleman led the Raiders with 18 points on 8-16 shooting. Gesell scored 14 points on 4-5 shooting as well as 6-7 from the free-throw line. Senior guard Paige O’Neal grabbed seven rebounds to go along with four assists. Freshman guard Renee Maneman distributed a team-high eight assists.
NW shot 46 percent from the field in comparison to 34 percent from Morningside. However, the Mustangs took advantage on the glass with 21 offensive rebounds that led to 27 second-chance points.
The Raiders will return to action on Saturday, Jan. 24 to face Nebraska Wesleyan in Lincoln, Neb. The game will begin at 2 p.m.