Red Raiders are National Champions!

The Northwestern College Red Raiders are the NAIA D-II Women's Basketball National Champions! With a strong second half, sparked by a 13-0 Red Raider run, Northwestern College defeated top-seeded College of the Ozarks (Mo.), 82-75. It is the second national championship for the women's team as they end the season with a 35-2 overall record. Northwestern also won the championship back in 2001.

The teams exchanged leads to start the game until Ozarks went on the game's first run with the score tied at 9. The Bobcats went on a 13-4 run, capped off by a three pointer by Kayli Combs, to lead 22-13. They extended their lead to 12 (29-17), the largest of the game, with 10 minutes to  go in the first half. Northwestern battled back with a 13-5 run of their own to cut it to four with six minutes left. Ozarks guard Janessa DeMuth scored six straight points to build the lead up to nine just before the half and the Bobcats led 47-40 at intermission. DeMuth scored 20 first half points to lead all scorers and led an Ozarks defense that forced NWC into 15 first half turnovers. Northwestern was led by Debbie Remmerde with 15 points.

A fast Ozarks start to start the second half pushed the lead up to nine (54-45) until Northwestern scored seven straight points to cut the deficit down to two. Mandy Carr hit her third three pointer of the game to spark the NWC run. The Red Raiders cut it to one (56-55) after an Amy Larson three pointer but were unable to take the lead on back-to-back offensive possessions. Ozarks weathered the storm and surged ahead once again by as much as eight with 10 minutes to go. Trailing by seven (71-64), the Red Raiders scored the next 13 points to pull ahead by six, 77-71, with three minutes left. Remmerde scored nine points during the decisive run and the NWC defense held the Bobcats without a field goal for close to four minutes. A Josie Sparkman basket ended the Northwestern run and made it a two-point game with just over a minute to go. Northwestern was not to be denied as Remmerde converted a jumper in the lane and Carr and Remmerde sealed the win with free throws in the final 30 seconds.

Northwestern was led by tournament MVP Debbie Remmerde with 41 points. The NAIA Player-of-the-Year was 11-of-21 from the field and a perfect 14-of -14 from the free throw line. Remmerde finished her career with 3,854 points, one shy from tying the all-time NAIA mark. She also set the record for most points and best free throw percentage in a season. Amy Larson, who earned third team All-American honors, scored 15 and Mandy Carr chipped in 12. Northwestern out-rebounded the Bobcats 42-33, led by Randa Hulstein with 11. Miranda Boekhout and Remmerde dished out four assists each. The Red Raiders shot 48% from the field, 58% from the three point line.

The win gives Northwestern their second national championship (2001) and marks the seventh time in eight years that a GPAC school has won the women's championship. Both Remmerde and Larson earned all-tournament honors with Remmerde earning MVP.

NAIA Women's Championship Central