The Northwestern women’s basketball team defeated Mount Marty 82-73 on Wednesday, Jan. 28. With the win, NW improved to 7-6 in the GPAC and 13-8 overall. Senior guard Paige O’Neal scored a career high 36 points that helped boost the Raider offense.
NW trailed by as much as 13 points in the first half as a result of solid shooting by Mount Marty, who shot over 53 percent from the field in the first half.
After trailing by six at half, an O’Neal jumper gave NW a 44-43 lead — their first of the night — capped off a 12-5 run for the home team early in the second half. The Raider scoring barrage continued throughout the second half when O’Neal scored eight consecutive points to bring the score to 60-47. After a pair of Lancer three-point shots, freshman guard Renee Maneman hit a layup that capped off a 12-4 run for NW to seal the deal.
O’Neal led all scorers with 36 points on 11-18 shooting and a perfect 13-13 from the free throw line. O’Neals 36 points were the most in a game for NW since Becca (Hurley) Kramer scored 36 in 2010. She also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior guard Karen Ettleman added 12 points and junior post Arianne Gesell recorded 11 points and six rebounds.
The Raiders will play host to GPAC opponent Midland on Saturday, Jan. 31, with the game beginning at 2 p.m.
