Women's Basketball Earns 95-86 Win Over William Penn

The Northwood University women's basketball team improved to 2-1 on the season with a 95-86 win over William Penn Friday night (October 22).

The contest was a part of the Quincy Subway Tip-Off Tournament.  William Penn falls to 3-5 on the season with the loss.

William Penn got off to a good start early in the game, leading 12-3 less than three minutes into the game. But it was Northwood who finished the half strong. Trailing 30-29 with just over five minutes remaining in the half, the Timberwolves posted 12 straight points in about three minutes of action to go up 41-30.  NU eventually took a 43-31 lead to the break, thanks to their play inside. Northwood had 28 points in the paint, 19 second chance points and shot 23 free throws in the opening 20 minutes.

Much like the first half, both teams made runs in the second half.  Northwood extended their lead up to 13 at 50-37 early in the half, but the Statesmen would not go away. William Penn cut the lead to four at 59-55, only to see Northwood score 12 of the next 15 points to go up 71-58.  The Statesmen had one final run left in them, scoring nine straight points late to cut the NU lead down to 80-79. But Gabrielle Rivette (Fenton, Mich.) converted a layup and a free throw after a timeout to put Northwood back up by four. That started a 10-0 Northwood run that put the game away.

The 95 points Northwood scored in the game are the most for the Timberwolves since December 29, 2008 in a win over St. Joseph's. Overall, Northwood shot 41.7 percent from the floor (30-72).  The free throw line was key for Northwood, as NU went 31-41 from the foul line (75.6 percent). William Penn finished the game at 44.6 percent overall (29-65) and 62.5 percent from the foul line (20-32). NU also dominated points in the paint (52-38), second chance points (34-16) and points off turnovers (22-7) in the game. The Statesmen stayed close thanks to making twice as many 3-pointers as the Timberwolves (8-4).  

The balanced NU offense featured six Timberwolves finished in double figures. Lauren Robak (Clarkston, Mich./Our Lady of the Lakes) led the way with 22 points, going 13-16 from the foul line. Sarah Susan (Grand Rapids, Mich./Byron Center) and Jordyn Nurenberg (St. Johns, Mich.) each added 14 points.  Nurenberg also had 10 rebounds in her first action of the season. Rivette and Aleigha Wylie (Hemlock, Mich./Midland both scored 13 points, while freshman Emily Kutch (Freeport, Mich./Lakewood) added career-highs in points (10) and rebounds (seven).

Northwood will take on host Quincy Saturday afternoon (November 23). Game time is set for 5 p.m. (ET).