Waldorf at Northwestern

• PREVIEW
• BOXSCORE

Game Time… The Northwestern College women’s basketball team makes their home debut this evening as they play host to Waldorf College. The Red Raiders are 1-1 this season and the Warriors will be making their season debut. Tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm in the Bultman Center.

The Coaches… Waldorf head coach Denny Jerome enters his 37^th season in charge of the women’s basketball program. He has over 700 wins in his career (724-324) and has averaged nearly 20 wins per season. Jerome has led the Warriors to seven national tournaments. Coach Woudstra is in his 15^th season as the head of women’s program and has led his team to seven national tournaments, including two national championships (2001 and 2008). Woudstra is 311-124 and is the all-time winningest coach in the program’s history.

The Series… This will be the fifth meeting between the two schools and Northwestern holds a 3-1 advantage in the series. The Red Raiders have won the last three meetings which includes a 78-56 win in the 2006-07 season.

Scouting Report… Waldorf belongs to the Midwest Collegiate Conference and is picked to finish fifth out of nine teams in the MCC preseason poll. In 2007-08, the Warriors placed fourth in the regular season with a 9-7 record and finished with an 18-13 overall mark. They lost to MCC postseason champion St. Ambrose, 73-61, in the conference semifinals which ended their season.

Coach Jerome’s squad returns six players that saw significant action in 2007-08 led by first team all-MCC players, Rachel Hannam and Kate Milbrandt. Hannam, a junior forward, led the team in scoring (12) and rebounds (8.5) and shot better then 53% from the field. Milbrandt, a senior guard, averaged 11.2 points per game and led the team with 119 assists. She also made a team-best 58 three pointers, shooting 34% from beyond the arc. Megan Forster and Ali March also return for the Warriors. Forster started 15 games and made 25 three pointers, averaging 8.8ppg. March, a part-time starter in 2007-08, averaged 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Red Raider Notes…The Northwestern College women's basketball team opened its season with a 1-1 record at the Tyson Tipoff Classic. The tournament was played at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The Red Raiders lost to Dakota State Friday night 85-81 but cruised to a 109-74 win over Mayville State the next night.

Kristin Neth leads NWC averaging 23 points and eight rebounds and has made a team-best six three pointers this season. Freshmen Val Kleinjan (19ppg), Kami Kuhlmann (16.5ppg) and Katie Nieuwsma (10ppg) also average in double figures. Nieuwsma leads the team with 10 assists while Allison Hulst has pulled down eight rebounds per game.

Northwestern is averaging 95 point per game and is shooting 51% from the floor, 42% from beyond the arc.

Next up… Coach Woudstra’s squad will host a pair of games this weekend as they play eighth-ranked Jamestown on Friday night followed by a match-up against Valley City State on Saturday.