Game Time... The Red Raiders will travel to Seward, Neb. to play Concordia in a key GPAC women's basketball contest. Both teams come in being ranked in the top 10 as Northwestern is second in the NAIA with a 23-1 record, 13-0 in the GPAC. The Bulldogs are 22-3 overall and 11-3 in the league. Tipoff for the match-up is at 2:00 pm.
Scouting Report... Concordia has lost just three times all season with a pair of losses to third-ranked Morningside and one to sixth-ranked Hastings. They have also defeated the Broncos (Nov. 21) and have knocked off #23 Doane twice. Junior guard Whitney Stichka, a first team all-GPAC player in 2007, leads the Bulldogs averaging 16.8ppg. She is shooting just under 50% from the floor, 41% (36/88) from the three point line and has dished out a team-high 89 assists. Also in the Concordia back-court is junior guard Melissa Tinkham, who leads the Bulldogs with 76 three pointers. Tinkham, an honorable mention all-GPAC pick as a sophomore, is averaging 16.6ppg and is shooting 33% from beyond the arc. Stacy Scheer and TaLisa Krejci, a pair of sophomore guards, average 8.5 and 8.3ppg, respectively. Senior Jenni Lovegrove provides the post presence for the Bulldogs, averaging 8.1ppg and a team-best 6.7rpg. Fellow senior Libby Hirsig comes off the bench to average just over six points and six boards per game. Guards Jordan Schmoldt and Liz Bauer, both seniors, round out the starting lineup for the Bulldogs.
Concordia is averaging 80ppg and shoots 44% from the field. The Bulldogs are giving up 66ppg and teams are shooting 39% from the floor against them.
Last Time Out... Concordia defeated Midland Lutheran on the road, 85-73, in their last game on Feb. 6. The Bulldogs used a 50-38 advantage at the half to get the victory. Both teams shot 45% from the field but Concordia converted eight more three pointers than the host Warriors. Whitney Stichtka netted a game-high34 points while Stacy Scheer was the only other Bulldog in double figures with 10.
The Red Raiders won their 11th straight contest and tied a school record for most points in a game as they knocked off USF, 110-66. This was the second meeting between the two teams (NWC def. USF, 85-60 on Jan. 9) and after trailing 2-0, Northwestern took the lead for good with an 18-4 run during the first five minutes of the game. The Cougars battled back to cut the lead to five, 20-15, before NWC outscored the visitors 22-13 to close the half.
Leading 42-28 at intermission, Northwestern outscored USF 68-38 during the final 20 minutes en route to 110 points in the game, which tied a school record set during the 2004-05 season against North Central (Minn.). In addition, Coach Woudstra earned his 299th career victory as Head Coach of the NWC women's basketball team.
Northwestern shot 53% for the game compared to 30% for USF. Debbie Remmerde netted a game-high 37 points to lead four Red Raider players in double figures. Amy Larson scored 20 while Becca Hurley (16) and Crystal Algood (11) were also in double figures. NWC dominated the glass (55-39) and were led by Algood with a career-high 15 rebounds. Miranda Boekhout and Mandy Carr dished out nine and six assists, respectively.
Red Raider Notes... NWC has won 11 straight games and remains tied with Morningside for first place in the GPAC with a 13-0 record. Coach Woudstra enters the game in need of just one more win to reach 300 in his 14-year career at NWC. The Red Raiders are the highest scoring team in the league, averaging 90ppg. They are shooting a league best 52% from the field and 44% from the three point line. Defensively, they give up 67ppg and are tops in the league in field goal percentage defense (37%). NWC ranks second in the GPAC in rebounds, trailing only Concordia in the category. Debbie Remmerde (29.2) and Amy Larson (17.5) rank first and fourth in the GPAC in scoring. Crystal Algood is sixth in rebounding (7.7) and three players, Remmerde, Algood and Randa Hulstein are the league leaders in field goal percentage. Miranda Boekhout and Mandy Carr rank first and third in assists, averaging 5.6 and 4.8apg. Becca Hurley has 23 three pointers (40%) off the bench for NWC.
Next up... Northwestern will next host Dakota Wesleyan this Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 6:00 pm.
2007-08 media guide
