Red Raiders/Mustangs to Play in GPAC Women's Basketball Showdown

Game Time...Second ranked Northwestern heads to Sioux City on Wednesday (Feb. 20) to take on third-ranked Morningside in a GPAC women's basketball showdown at 6:00 pm. Both teams are undefeated in the GPAC at 16-0 with two games left to play and the winner will be crowned the regular season conference champion. Click on the link below to view/listen to the game courtesy of the VSN Network with play-by-play and color provided by Jason Dannelly and Corey Westra. The audio will also be made available through the Red Raider web-cast at the following link:

       VSN Video/Audio

Scouting Report... The Mustangs are the hottest team in the NAIA as they have won a school-record 23 straight games and have a 26-2 overall record. They are ranked third in the NAIA, one of three league teams in the top 10 (NWC-2, Hastings-6). Head Coach Jamie Sale is in his seventh season with the Mustangs and is the winningest coach in Morningside history with a record of 168-63 (.727).

As a team, Morningside offensively ranks second in the league, fourth in the NAIA, averaging 86.8ppg. They are shooting 45% from the field, 39% from the three point line and are second in the nation at the free throw line at 77%. The Mustangs are second in the nation in three pointers (293), averaging over 10 per game. Defensively, Morningside is second in the GPAC giving up 60ppg and teams are shooting 41% from the field. They lead the NAIA with 478 steals (17.1 per game) and are first in turnover margin (+11.3).

Individually, Morningside is led by sophomore guard, J.J. Hall, who averages 13ppg. Hall is the reigning GPAC Player-of-the-Week and is fifth in the GPAC with 64 three pointers and shooting 43% from beyond the arc. Autumn Bartel averages 12.5ppg and has 44 three pointers this season, shooting 41% from the three point line. The junior guard also ranks seventh in the GPAC in both steals (68) and assists (99). Dani Gass, a 5-10 junior guard, averages 10.5ppg and leads the team in rebounds (7.8) and assists (153). The 2007 first team NAIA All-American is second in the league in steals with 84. Kristi Tighe, Leslie Floral and Laura Nelson are also key contributors in a very deep and talented Mustang back-court. Tighe, a 5-7 senior, leads the team with 69 three pointers (fourth in the GPAC) and is shooting 42% from the three point line. Floral, a 5-11 sophomore, averages 7.3 points and ranks second on the team with 4.2 rebounds per game. Nelson, a 5-10 guard who earned GPAC Player-of-the-Week honors earlier this season, is ninth in the league with 51 three pointers. Leading the front-court for the Mustangs is 6-0 sophomore Brittany Williamson and 5-11 sophomore Roni Miller. Williamson averages 9.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while Miller averages 6.5ppg and is shooting a team-best 55% from the floor. Kayla Weerheim (2.8ppg) and Alisha Willey (4.3ppg) will also come off the bench for Coach Sale.

Last Time Out... Morningside won a school record 23rd straight game last Saturday as they ran past Dana, 115-61, in Blair, Neb. The Mustangs began the game with a 10-0 lead and after the Vikings cut the lead down to seven (13-6), Morningside scored the next 19 points en route to a 63-26 halftime lead. Coach Sale's club outscored Dana 52-35 in the second half for their highest scoring output of the season. Five players scored in double figures for Morningside, led by J.J. Hall with 21 points. Dani Gass added 14 points, nine rebounds, six assists and six steals. As a team, the Mustangs totaled 29 steals, two shy of the all-time record, and forced 33 Viking turnovers.

The Red Raiders recorded an 84-76 come-from-behind win over the host Doane Tigers Saturday afternoon in Crete, Neb. for their 14th straight win.  Northwestern trailed by 17 in the first half but closed the half on a 10-2 run to cut the margin down to 40-31 at intermission. NWC came out firing in the second half as they scored the first 10 points to take a 41-40 lead. During the next 12 minutes, the lead exchanged hands six times until, with the score tied at 69, Northwestern went on an 11-2 run to take the lead for good, 80-71. Coach Woudstra's squad held on to earn the 84-76 win.

Debbie Remmerde set a new school record with 51 points, breaking her own previous mark of 50 set earlier this season against South Dakota Tech. She made 19/28 field goal attempts, 6/11 three pointers and 7/8 from the free throw line. Randa Hulstein was the only other Northwestern player in double figures with 10. NWC shot 49% for the game, 59% in the second half. Coach Woudstra's squad won the battle of the boards, 40-38, led by Crystal Algood and Mandy Carr with seven and six, respectively. Miranda Boekhout dished out six assists.

Red Raider Notes... Head Coach Earl Woudstra, in his 14th season as head of the women's basketball program, is the all-time winningest coach in the program's history with 302 wins and a winning percentage of 72%. The Red Raiders have won 14 straight games and are 26-1 overall. They have been ranked second in the NAIA all season.

Offensively, Northwestern leads the GPAC in several offensive categories, including points per game (90), field goal percentage (53%), three point percentage (44%), field goal and three point percentage defense (37%, 29%), assists and blocks. They also rank second in rebounding (+7.1) and third in three pointers (223..8.3ppg).

Individually, Debbie Remmerde leads the NAIA averaging 30.5ppg. She leads the NAIA in three pointers (94), three point percentage (54%), and free throw percentage (97%). Remmerde has earned GPAC player-of-the-week honors four times and NAIA Player-of-the-Week two times. Amy Larson ranks fifth in the GPAC averaging 17.3ppg and is third in the league with 78 three pointers, fourth in three point percentage (44%). She ranks second all-time at NWC with 239 three pointers. Randa Hulstein leads the GPAC shooting 66% from the floor and averages 9.3ppg and 5.6rpg. Becca Hurley averages 8.6ppg and is ninth in the league shooting 52% from the floor. Crystal Algood averages 8.6 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds per game. She also leads the conference with 86 blocked shots and is the school's career leader with 322 blocks. Miranda Boekhout leads the GPAC with 157 assists and is averaging 6.4ppg. She ranks 11th all-time at NWC with 650 rebounds and is the school's leader in career assists. Mandy Carr is second in both career assists and career steals. She is averaging 5.4ppg and 4.7rpg.

Last Meeting... The Red Raiders knocked off Morningside in a non-conference match-up, 70-67, on Nov. 13. Northwestern improved to 5-0 with the win while the Mustangs fell to 3-2, their last loss of the season. With the score tied at 22, the Red Raiders closed the first half on a 16-7 run to lead 38-29 at intermission. NWC held the Mustangs without a field goal for a nine minute stretch until Leslie Floral hit a lay-up at the buzzer.

Morningside came back to take the lead in the second half, 56-53, by way of an 11-0 run. Northwestern tied the score at 65 and took the lead on a three pointer by Amy Larson with 1:02 left to play. A pair of Mustang free throws cut the lead back to one until Debbie Remmerde hit  a jumper with 30 seconds to go back up by three. Morningside was unable to convert the game-tying field goal during the closing seconds which sealed the Red Raider victory.

Larson led all players with 21 points, surpassing the 1,000 point milestone in the process. Remmerde added 16 and Crystal Algood recorded 12 points and 13 rebounds. Dani Gass led the Mustangs with 17 points.

GPAC Standings and Schedule...
  USF @ Mount Marty
  Dordt @ Briar Cliff
  Doane @ Hastings