This week was successful as the Northwestern women’s basketball team won two more games, and extended their streak to five wins. The Raider women are now ranked No. 10 in the nation following the wins.
The Raiders had a solid win on the road against Dakota Wesleyan Wednesday night, and won 87-81.
Last week’s NAIA Division II Player of the Week, senior Kendra De Jong, dominated the game with 30 points, 19 rebounds and shooting 70 percent from the field. Junior Kenzie Small added 17 points off the bench, while junior Samantha Kleinsasser put in 16 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Karen Hutson also had 16 points for NW.
NW received contributions from every player in their lineup, putting together a solid team win. The Raiders shot 46 percent from the floor in the game (31-for-68) and completed 23-35 free-throw attempts.
The Raider women out-hustled the opposition with 19 offensive rebounds to Dakota Wesleyan’s six, and out-rebounded them overall 44-30. The Raiders also had six steals and forced 12 turnovers.
This was truly a tale of two halves as the Raiders were outplayed in the first half by Dakota Wesleyan. However, the Raiders responded in the second half by outscoring the opposition. They shot a remarkable 54 percent in the second half and held Dakota Wesleyan to 42 percent.
Last Saturday against Doane, NW pulled off a late rally to win 70-65 in a tough road contest. The teams were matched in rebounding with 42 apiece, and NW shot 35 percent from the field while Doane shot 34 percent. The difference in the game proved to be free-throws. NW shot 82 percent from the line, where they hit 28-34 while Doane made 17 of its 18 attempts.
De Jong led the team in scoring and added another double-double with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Hutson had 12 points and six boards, while Kleinsasser contributed with nine points and six boards as well.
The NW defense was strong the whole night, and only gave up tough shots. They forced Doane into 20 turnovers, which lead to 17 points off the turnovers.
The women will play their final regular season home game at 2 p.m. on Saturday in the Bultman Center against Midland.
