Bethany Lutheran bolted out to a 9-0 lead after the first five minutes and lead by as many as 10 points at 15-to-5 with just over 9 minutes remaining in the half. Northwestern continued to battle and whittled their deficit down to 4 points at 19-to-15 with 5:11 left in the opening period. The visiting Vikings maintained control in the closing minutes of the half and took a 34-24 advantage with them into the halftime break.
Northwestern did not find the Ericksen Center rims to be friendly in the opening half, hitting just 9-of-32 (28.1%) field goal attempts and only 3-of-12 (25.0%) from three-point range. Bethany Lutheran connected on 13-of-36 (36.1%) from the floor and just 1-of-14 (7.1%) from behind the three-point arc in the opening twenty minutes of play. The Vikings boasted a 32-to-16 advantage in rebounds in the period, aiding in 12 second chance points compared to no second chance points for the Eagles.
The Vikings sprinted out of the gate again in the second half, moving in front by as many as 13 points on two occasions early in the final half. Northwestern quickly stormed back, producing a 12-0 run to close within 1 point at 39-38 with 14:02 left in the affair. Bethany Lutheran then responded with their own run, scoring the game’s next 10 points to lead 49-to-38 at the midway point of the second period. Once again, the Eagles took their turn with a run and plowed their way back to within one point on three different occasions near the five minute mark. Northwestern finally tied the game at 57-to-57 on a three-point field goal by Jen Adamson (Fargo, N.D./Oak Grove) with 3:07 still remaining on the game clock. Two minutes later, after trading a pair of field goals, the score remained tied at 61-61 with 50 seconds left.
Bethany Lutheran standout Jessica Merseth (Mankato, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran) stepped up and hit a baseline field goal with 20 seconds left to put the Vikings in control 63-61. After a Northwestern turnover, Bethany Lutheran netted one-of-two free throw attempts. Trailing 64-61 with 3 ticks left on the clock, the Eagles were unable to get a last-second shot attempt off as the Vikings hung on for the victory.
Northwestern finished the tussle making just 24-of-65 (36.9%) field goal attempts and only 6-of-21 (28.6%) from three-point range. Bethany Lutheran looked very similar in hitting 25-of-70 (35.7%) from the floor and only 2-of-22 (9.1%) from downtown. The big difference in the game was on the boards as the Vikings held a 54-to-36 advantage in rebounding. The disparity led to a 20-to-5 difference in favor of Bethany Lutheran in second-chance points.
Jen Adamson led all players with 25 points, marking her second best scoring output of the season. She was successful on 11-of-17 field goal attempts and added 5 rebounds along with 3 blocks for the Eagles. Northwestern senior guard Julie Ross (New Hope, Minn./Cooper) nearly closed in a triple-double, accounting for 11 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. Her 11 rebounds is a season-high in 2006-2007. Katie Tuseth (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Aimee Lind (Rib Lake, Wis.) each chipped in 10 points.
For Bethany Lutheran, Lindsey Kahle (Gaylord, Minn./Sibley East) and Eva Voss (North Mankato, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran) each boasted 15 points, while Jessica Merseth tallied 14 points along with 8 rebounds. Cali Hines (Madelia, Minn.) pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds.
Northwestern College will be in action next weekend, hosting Presentation College (S.D.) on Friday, January 26, at 5:30 p.m. in the Ericksen Center.
Bethany Lutheran College vs Northwestern College 01/20/07 3:00 PM at St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center At St. Paul, Minn./Ericksen Center BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE 64, NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE 61 BETHANY LUTHERAN COLLEGE (13-4 (5-1 UMAC)) Lindsey Kahle 5-16 3-5 15; Eva Voss 6-12 3-4 15; Jessica Merseth 5-11 4-4 14; Casey Gudahl 5-12 2-3 12; Cali Hines 3-7 0-0 6; Leslie Bremer 1-4 0-0 2; Laura Parochka 0-6 0-0 0; Molly Erdman 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 12-16 64. NORTHWESTERN COLLEGE (4-11 (3-2 UMAC)) Adamson, Jen 11-17 1-1 25; Ross, Julie 3-11 5-6 11; Lind, Aimee 4-8 0-0 10; Tuseth, Katie 4-11 1-2 10; Sir, Kelly 1-8 0-0 3; Baker, Shelby 1-5 0-1 2; Doyle, Nikki 0-0 0-0 0; Hendrickson, Kayla 0-1 0-2 0; Nelson, Marcy 0-2 0-0 0; Toews, Luanne 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-65 7-12 61. Bethany Lutheran College...... 34 30 - 64 Northwestern College.......... 24 37 - 61 3-point goals-Bethany Lutheran College 2-22 (Lindsey Kahle 2-10; Jessica Merseth 0-2; Casey Gudahl 0-6; Laura Parochka 0-2; Molly Erdman 0-2), Northwestern College 6-21 (Lind, Aimee 2-4; Adamson, Jen 2-3; Tuseth, Katie 1-5; Sir, Kelly 1-6; Nelson, Marcy 0-2; Toews, Luanne 0-1). Fouled out--Bethany Lutheran College-None, Northwestern College-None. Rebounds-Bethany Lutheran College 54 (Cali Hines 14), Northwestern College 36 (Ross, Julie 11). Assists-Bethany Lutheran College 10 (Lindsey Kahle 4), Northwestern College 19 (Ross, Julie 7). Total fouls-Bethany Lutheran College 17, Northwestern College 17. A-402 Northwestern College is 4-1 all-time against Bethany Lutheran College and 2-1 all-time at home against Bethany Lutheran.