Game Time... Second seed Northwestern will host third-seed Hastings in the semifinals of the GPAC Women's Basketball Postseason Tournament. Both teams were ranked in the top five in the final NAIA poll with the Red Raiders third with a 28-2 overall record and the Broncos fourth at 27-4. Tipoff for the semifinals will be at 2:00 pm.
Scouting Report... The Broncos are ranked fourth in the NAIA with a 27-4 overall record and have won 10 straight games. Their last loss, on Jan. 19, is to Morningside at home, 71-64. The finished league play in third place with a 15-3 record.
Head Coach Tony Hobson's squad ranks third in the league in points (79pg), shooting percentage (44%) and three pointers (258), shooting 36% from beyond the arc. The Broncos lead the GPAC in opponents points per game (56) and hold teams to just 38% from the field. They lead the NAIA in turnover differential (+8), forcing nearly 22 miscues per game and committing just 13.5.
Individually, sophomore forward Lindsay Ducey leads the team in scoring (18ppg), second best in the league. However, the second team all-conference performer in 2007 has missed the last three games due to injury and will not play. The Broncos, however, are 3-0 without their sophomore star and have plenty of firepower remaining. Junior guard Kay Broekemeier averages 13ppg and is sixth in the league with 73 three pointers, shooting 38% from beyond the arc. Sophomore Heather McKeon comes off the bench and scores 9.3ppg and has 57 three pointers. Senior point guard Haruka Yamashita averages 7.4ppg and leads the team with 115 assists. Rachel Isherwood and Rachael VanKirk average 8.4 and 4.4ppg respectively. Isherwood, a 5-10 sophomore, is ninth in the league with 72 steals. Junior post player Breanna Lien has stepped into the starting lineup since the Ducey injury and averages 6.8 points and a team-best 5.4 rebounds per game. The 6'4" post presence is fifth in the league with 52 blocks.
Last Time Out...Hastings defeated sixth-seed Dakota Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the GPAC Postseason Tournament, 77-51, Thursday night in Hastings, Neb. The Broncos scored the final six points of the first half to take a 34-23 lead at intermission. Hastings then outscored DWU 16-6 as the second half got underway to take a 50-29 lead and led by at least 16 points the rest of the way. Heather McKeon scored a game-high 21 points, making five of eight three pointers. Breanna Lien added 12 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Hastings forced 26 DWU turnovers.
The Red Raiders defeated Doane 80-70 in the quarterfinals of the GPAC Postseason Tournament. NWC led 47-35, at intermission before a 7-0 Tiger run early in the second half cut the lead down to 47-42 with 14 minutes left to play. Doane continued their comeback and cut the lead down to two, 60-58, until the Red Raiders scored the next seven points to push the lead back up to nine, 67-58. Four NWC players scored in double figures led by Debbie Remmerde with 22 points. Randa Hulstein and Crystal Algood both recorded a double-double as Hulstein scored 18 points and pulled down 11 boards while Algood scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds.
Red Raider Notes... Head Coach Earl Woudstra is the all-time winningest coach in the program's history with a record of 304-124. He has led his team to the national tournament six times, including the last two seasons. In 2000-01, Coach Woudstra led his team to the national championship and has twice led the Red Raiders to a Final Four finish. This is the eighth season in which Woudstra has led NWC to 20+ wins.
The Red Raiders are the highest scoring team in the league at 90ppg. They also lead the NAIA in assists, field goal and three point percentage. Defensively, NWC is giving up 68ppg and lead the GPAC in field goal percentage defense at 37%.
Four Red Raider players are in the GPAC's top 10 in field goal percentage, led by sophomore Randa Hulstein at 69%. Crystal Algood (2nd-61%), Debbie Remmerde (3rd-60.6%), Becca Hurley (10th-50%) are also among the league leaders. Remmerde leads the NAIA averaging 30ppg and is one of three NWC players in double figures. Amy Larson is fourth at 17.4ppg while Hulstein averages 10.4 points off the bench. Algood is seventh in the GPAC in rebounding (7.5) and leads the league in blocks (92). Miranda Boekhout averages 6.7ppg and is closing in on 1,000 career points. She leads the league with 172 assists and averages five boards per game. Mandy Carr is third in the GPAC with 151 assists and leads the team in steals with 57.
Last Meeting... Northwestern defeated Hastings 67-63 back on Jan. 5 in the only meeting between the two teams. The Red Raiders led by eight at intermission but the Broncos came back and led by six, 63-57, with three minutes to play. Northwestern scored the final 10 points of the game, however, and earned the win. Debbie Remmerde scored 28 points to lead NWC while Kay Broekemeier led the Broncos with 20.
Next up... The winner of this afternoon's semifinal game will play the winner of the other semifinal contest featuring #1 Morningside and #5 Mount Marty in the championship game on Tuesday, March 4.
2007-08 media guide
