The Raider women celebrated Senior Day with yet another victory versus a top-25 opponent. Northwestern used a second half surge to defeat the Hastings College Broncos 97-75 on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Bultman Center. NW is now 23-3 overall, 17-3 in the GPAC. Hastings dropped to 16-11 overall, 11-9 in the GPAC. The Raiders have now swept the season series against the Broncos after winning the first matchup 81-62 in Hastings, Neb.
The game was fairly even after Hastings held a marginal lead throughout the first half, and the Raiders took a four-point lead into the half. At the three-minute mark in the third quarter, NW redshirt sophomore Bre Schuiteman buried a three-pointer to add to an 11-3 run. The Raiders continued to add to their lead, eventually reaching 23 points with 2:12 left in the game.
NW senior Kassidy DeJong added another double-double to her total of nine this season, finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Bre Schuiteman scored 17, with 15 of those coming from beyond the arc, and senior forward Haley Birks added 16 points in the win. Hastings was led in scoring by Taylor Beacom, who scored 17 points. The Raider women shot well throughout the game, going 38-57 from the field, including 53.3 percent on three-pointers. NW also had an advantage on the glass, winning the rebounding battle 43-19.
The Raider women remained in second place in the GPAC standings with Saturday’s victory, with Concordia holding the tiebreaker for first place in the conference. Wednesday night, Feb. 13, NW defeated Jamestown 88-58. The regular season will come to a close Saturday, Feb. 16, away at Midland University. Saturday’s matchup presents a potential first-round conference tournament matchup as Midland sits in seventh place in GPAC standings. Looking ahead, the Raider women will host a quarterfinal matchup Feb. 20 in the Bultman Center, with the time and opponent still to be determined.
