Game Time... Northwestern will go for their 10th straight win as they host Nebraska Wesleyan Saturday afternoon in the Bultman Center. The Red Raiders are ranked second, behind College of the Ozarks (Mo.), with a 21-1 overall record and are tied for first in the GPAC with Morningside with a perfect 11-0 record. Tipoff for Saturday's game is at 2:00 pm.
Scouting Report... The Prairie Wolves of Nebraska Wesleyan enter Saturday's contest with a 5-13 overall record, 2-9 and tied for 11th in the GPAC. Head Coach Amy Sander's (3rd year) squad has lost two straight games and has just one win in their last eight games. Their lone victory during that stretch is a 53-47 home win over Midland Lutheran on Jan. 23.
Nebraska Wesleyan is averaging 59 points per game and shoots 38% from the field. They have the sixth best three point percentage in the league at 33% and are eighth in the GPAC in rebounding. Defensively, the Prairie Wolves give up 71ppg and teams are shooting 43% from the field. They are third in the league with 74 blocked shots and average 24 turnovers per game.
Individually, NWU is led by a pair of freshmen, Sadie Struebing and Katy Golden. Struebing, a 5-11 forward, averages a team-best 12 points per game and shoots 60% from the field, third best in the league. She also ranks sixth in the GPAC in rebounds (7.7) and fifth in the blocks (30). Golden, a 6-0 post player, averages 7.2ppg and 5.1rpg. She is 10th in the league with 15 blocks. Devan Aschtgen, a two-time all-GPAC player, averages 8.1ppg and 4.7rpg. Ashley Bordovsky, a 5-7 junior guard, is eighth in the GPAC with 58 assists and averages 6.3ppg. Guards Ally Mahlman (5.9ppg) and Amy Stratbucker (4.2ppg) are the top perimeter threats with 23 and 16 three pointers, respectively. Stratbucker shoots 43% from beyond the arc, eighth best in the GPAC.
Last Time Out... Nebraska Wesleyan lost to Dana last Wednesday night on a last second shot by the Vikings. The Prairie Wolves closed the first half on a 10-4 run and trailed by three, 29-26, at halftime. NWU tied the game at 38 and took their first lead in the second half, 41-40, with 8:32 left to play. With the Prairie Wolves trailing by one, 55-54, Devan Aschtgen scored off a lay-up and was fouled that put NWU up one. Aschtgen missed the free throw however, and after a Viking timeout, Dana scored off an offensive rebound with just one second left for the win. Sadie Struebing scored 17 points and Aschtgen added 10 in the loss.
The Red Raiders won their ninth consecutive game as they defeated arch-rival Dordt, 82-55, Wednesday night. The Defenders held a brief lead, 13-12, before the Red Raiders scored the next nine points to take the lead for good. Dordt came back to cut the lead down to two, 25-23, but Northwestern closed the half on a 16-6 run to lead 41-29 at the half. Coach Woudstra's squad blew the game open with a 21-2 run during the first five minutes of the second half en route to their ninth straight win.
Northwestern shot 52% from the floor, 67% (8/12) from beyond the arc, and held Dordt to 39% from the field, including just 31% in the second half. Debbie Remmerde, the reigning NAIA Player-of-the-Week, scored a game-high 27 points. Amy Larson also scored in double figures with 18 points on 7/10 from the floor. Randa Hulstein added nine points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Miranda Boekhout added seven points, five boards and four assists.
Red Raider Notes... Northwestern is 21-1 overall and is tied with Morningside atop the GPAC standings with a perfect 11-0 mark. Head Coach Earl Woudstra, in his 14th season with NWC, needs just three more wins to reach the 300 win mark during his tenure at Northwestern.
Individually, the Red Raiders are led by five seniors, Debbie Remmerde, Amy Larson, Crystal Algood, Miranda Boekhout and Mandy Carr. Remmerde, the all-time leading scorer in NAIA D-II, leads the nation in scoring (29.1), three point (51%) and free throw percentage (97%). The three-time All-American has made 72 three pointers this season, fourth best in the nation, and has 415 in her career. Amy Larson ranks fourth in the GPAC with 17.5ppg. Larson, a two-time honorable mention all-GPAC pick, is second in the league with 70 three pointers and seventh in three point percentage (45%). She has 231 three pointers in her career, second best all-time. Algood averages nine points per game, ranks fourth in the GPAC shooting 60% from the field, seventh in rebounding (7.3rpg) and leads the GPAC in blocked shots (64). She is the all-time leading shot blocker (300) in NWC women's basketball history. Boekhout, a two-time honorable mention all-GPAC pick, averages 6.5 points, five rebounds and ranks second in the league with 121assists. She is the school's all-time leader in assists with 545 and ranks third in blocks (198). Carr, also a two-time honorable mention all-GPAC pick, averages 5.7 points and 4.5 rebound per game. Carr ranks third in the league with 99 assists and is second all-time in school history with steals (219) and third in assists (469). Off the bench, Randa Hulstein averages 9.5 points and is shooting a league best 66% from the field. Freshmen Becca Hurley and Morgan Achterhoff provide the depth in the back-court and combine for 12.3 points 6.1 rebounds per game.
Next Action... The Red Raiders will host USF next Wednesday night at 6:00 pm.
2007-08 media guide
