GPAC

[Women's Basketball] Northwestern Hands Women's Basketball First Loss

Doane Women's Basketball hosted No. 25 Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in Crete. The Red Raiders were able to pull away from the Tigers in the fourth quarter to pick up an 81-70 road win. NWC stays unbeaten, improving to 6-0, while Doane suffers their first loss, now 4-1.Two scoring droughts for the Tigers were too much to overcome on the afternoon. In the first quarter, Doane and Northwestern were tied 5-5 as they neared the midway mark of the opening quarter. A 14-5 Red Raider run would put Northwestern on top as they led 21-12 at the end of the quarter.In the second quarter, Doane battled back with a 12-4 run and an 8-0 run as they gained a 36-33 lead. Northwestern closed the quarter with a 7-0 run to regain the lead for a 40-36 advantage at the break.Neither team was able to find some separation in the third quarter with Northwestern outscoring the Tigers by a point as they led 57-52 going into the final quarter. Doane was within six points, 72-66, with 3:49 to play following a Macy Holtz (SO/Plainview, Minn.) jumper. The basket, however, would be the last field goal the Tigers would make as the Red Raiders outscored the Tigers 9-4 down the stretch.Mak Hatcliff (SO/Beatrice, Neb.) led Doane with 27 points and nine rebounds. Holtz finished with 20 points, three assists, and three steals. Kali Staples (SO/Broken Bow, Neb.) matched Holtz with three assists to lead the Tigers.Northwestern was led by Emilee Danner with 27 points and four blocked shots. The Red Raiders shot 54.5-percent from the floor while they held Doane to 38.1-percent.Doane will host No. 12 Morningside on Tuesday, November 22, at 6 PM in Crete.