Women's Basketball Falls To Sonoma State 72-69

FAIRBANKS, ALASKA – The Northwood University women's basketball team dropped a 72-69 contest to Sonoma State Friday afternoon (November 27).

The game was a part of the North Star Invitational, hosted by the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Northwood is now 3-2 overall, while Sonoma State improves to 3-2 with the win.

Northwood got off to a good start in the game, scoring 12 of the first 16 points of the game to open up an eight point lead. The Timberwolves led by as many as 12 in the opening quarter before settling for a 24-15 lead after one quarter.

The Timberwolves led 40-28 late in the second quarter, but that is when Sonoma State began the key stretch of the game. The Seawolves scored 10 of the last 11 points of the half to cut the lead down to 41-38 at the break.

Sonoma State kept the momentum going into the third quarter as well, eventually turning their run that started in the second quarter into a stretch where they out-scored NU 26-7. That run gave the Seawolves a 54-47 lead halfway through the third quarter. The Sonoma State lead stood at 58-55 heading to the fourth quarter.

The Timberwolves bounced back early in the fourth quarter, taking a 63-61 lead with just under six minutes remaining in the game. But Northwood would go scoreless over the next 5:16, turning a two-point lead into a six-point deficit at 69-63. A pair of Lauren Robak (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes) in the final 34 seconds gave NU a chance in the closing seconds. Trailing by three points, Northwood got off a pair of 3-point attempts in the final seconds but was unable to connect.

For the game, the two teams finished with similar shooting numbers. Northwood ended up at 39.7 percent overall (23-58) while Sonoma State finished at 38.8 percent (26-67). Both teams went 16-23 from the foul line in the game (69.6 percent). The Seawolves finished with a 43-38 edge in rebounding – which included a 17-10 advantage in offensive boards.

Robak led Northwood with 16 points. Jordyn Nurenberg (St. Johns, Mich.) registered her fifth-straight double-double to open the season, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Maddy Seeley (Alma, Mich.) added 12 points.

Northwood will finish their Alaska trip with a game against host Alaska-Fairbanks Saturday (November 28). Game time is set for 7 p.m. Eastern time.