vs. Concordia
The NW Red Raider women pulled off a road upset against eleventh-rated Concordia last Sat., Feb. 7 in Seward, Neb. The Raiders overcame a four point deficit and hung on for a 93-89 victory over the Bulldogs.
Senior Jaime Woudstra had a monster game from the field and on the glass. Woudstra hit on 5 of 7 three-pointers en route to a 35-point effort on the afternoon. Woudstra was also the leading rebounder for the Raiders pulling down 12 to go along with five blocked shots.
Junior guard Lindsay Kropf scored 21 points and dished out seven assists. Junior Carli Blom rounded out the Raiders in double digits with 17 points.
“The win was a great sense of accomplishment partly because I have not won at Concordia in the years I have been here,” said senior Kristy Schmidt. “It is always a tough place to play, but our team really pulled together and wanted it more than them.”
The Raiders turned the ball over 21 times while the Bulldogs committed just nine turnovers for the game.
Woudstra was honored as the Scheels GPAC player of the week for her efforts against Dordt and Concordia.
vs. Dakota Wesleyan
The Lady Raiders went on to knock off the fifth rated Lady Tigers of Dakota Wesleyan in overtime, 80-78, Wednesday night.
In the first half the Raiders built a quick 11-4 lead, but the game settled in from there. After half time, it was a tight battle every possession of the ball. Neither team was able to build more than a five point advantage.
With six seconds remaining Dakota Wesleyan’s Randi Morgan stepped to the line trailing by one with a chance to tie the game and take the lead. She missed the first free throw, but was able to sink the second to send the game into overtime.
NW jumped out to a quick four point advantage and then never looked back. With three seconds remaining, the Tigers trailing by two, got the ball in to Morgan, but Woudstra and Blom combined on a block to preserve the NW upset.
“We are at a stage where it is necessary to win our conference games in order to have a shot at the national tournament,” said Woudstra
Woudstra, the reigning GPAC player of the week, recorded her second triple-double of the season with a tremendous individual effort. She scored 28 points, delivered ten assists and absolutely dominated the glass with 17 rebounds.
Kropf was again in double-digit scoring leading the Raiders with 29 points while picking up five steals in the game. Blom scored 12 and tallied six steals.
“We want to be playing in Sioux City in March and this win is a good stepping stone for meeting that goal.” The Raiders entered the national rankings this week at number 22 for the first time since the preseason poll was released in late October. The Raider women are now 10-5 in the conference, 16-9 overall.
