The Northwestern women’s basketball team defeated Dakota Wesleyan 80-66 on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The Raiders have won five out their last six games and improved to a 10-7 record in the GPAC. NW is 16-9 overall.
Early on, both teams exchanged blows with eight lead changes and three ties throughout the opening 10 minutes of the first half. After a three-point play from the Tigers to give them a 19-16 advantage, the Raiders scored 13 consecutive points to build 29-19 lead with four a half minutes to go in the first half. The Tigers made a slight surge in the remaining minutes in the first half to close the lead to nine. NW entered halftime with a 40-31 lead.
After an opening layup in the second half by the Tigers, NW went on an 8-0 run that gave the home team a 15 point lead with a score of 48-33. The Tigers made a final run to get the game to within eight points at the seven minute mark, but the Raiders answered every call with a run of their own to give them a double-digit lead for the remainder of the contest.
Senior guard Karen Ettleman gave an encore performance to her 36-point effort from Saturday with a 22-point game to lead NW. Junior guard Katy Kuiper scored 15 points. Junior post Arianne Gesell added 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Freshman guard Renee Maneman lead the team with six assists. Senior guard Paige O’Neal grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go with five assists. NW shot 46 percent from the field and outrebounded the Tigers 42-39.
The Raiders will host No. 3 Concordia at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. Seniors and parents will also be recognized.
