Midland Men and Women fall to Northwestern

Midland Men and Women fall to Northwestern
January 17th, 2022 | midlandathletics.com

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – On Saturday afternoon, Midland University took the court inside the Bultman Center as they completed their season series with Northwestern College up in Orange City. The Warriors were looking for a sweep of the Raiders for the first time since the 2014-15 season. The Raiders had other ideas as they earned the 11-point victory 77-66, a mirror of the teams’ score from earlier this season in Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) play.

The game was tightly contested throughout as neither team led by more than nine points until the final basket. Ryan Larsen started the game with the hot hand for Midland with the first eight points, two shots coming from behind the arc. Colton Uhing added a three-pointer at the 14:44 mark putting the Warriors up 11-9.

A stretch of nearly five minutes without a point allowed the Raiders to go on a 10-0 run to take control of the game. Midland would battle their way back to within one, 20-21, as Jake Rueschhoff and Samuel Mailloux hit back-to-back shots. The half ended however with Northwestern holding a six-point advantage, 34-28.

Coming out of the intermission, Larsen once again was the spark for the Warriors’ offense. He hit back-to-back threes to pull Midland (34-34) and then Laurence Merritt ignited the offense with eight-straight points off a layup and two threes of his own. Less than five minutes into the second, Midland had gone from down six to up eight.

Northwestern’s veterans settled down though and whittled away at their deficit. By the 10:18 mark, they had regained the lead following a 5-0 run by Trent Hilbrands. They would never relinquish the lead as they had an answer for every Midland score.

The stat of the game was the Raiders’ shooting inside their home gym. They benefitted from the familiar surroundings shooting 51-percent (29-of-57) from the field and 44-percent (15-of-34) from long distance. It, like the final score, was a reversal from the first meeting when Midland shot 47- and 45-percent from the field.

Rueschhoff led the Warriors’ offensive attack with 21 points and 6 assists. Larsen finished with 18 points and Merritt chipped in 14 points. On the glass, Bo Sandquist pulled in a team-high seven rebounds.

Up next for Midland (14-7, 5-6 GPAC) is a home game with Mount Marty (5-15, 1-10 GPAC). The Warriors will look to break their run of three straight losses when they host the Lancers at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday in Fremont, Nebraska.

ORANGE CITY, Iowa – Midland University women’s basketball fell behind in the second quarter and never recovered as No. 14-ranked Northwestern College earned the season sweep with a 78-59 victory on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors fall to 7-12 on the season and 3-9 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) with their fourth-straight loss.

Midland came out battling in the first quarter with Emma ShepardSam Shepard, and Peyton Wingert combined for the team’s 11 points in the quarter. They trailed by just two as the Raiders hit just 5-of-18 for 13 points.

The second quarter saw Northwestern’s shooting take off as they exploded for 30 points. The Warriors netted just 14 points in the quarter as they turned the ball over five times which led to 10 Raider points. At the break, Northwestern led 43-25. 

The Warriors’ strife continued in the third as they were outscored 19-13. A bright spot in the period was their bench which scored eight points. Kennedy Darner had six with a pair of three-pointers while Amber Wolever scored the other field goal. Heading into the final quarter, the Raiders held a comfortable 62-38 lead.

Over the final ten minutes, Midland’s bench put up their best quarter of the day with 15 points. Darner again led the way with six points but was matched by Kara Jennings who also converted on a pair of three-point shots.

Darner led the way with 15 points on the day, her second-highest total this season. Joining her in double-digits was Peyton Wingert with 14 points. On the glass, Wingert led the way with eight rebounds while Erin Prusa and Lexi Kraft each pulled in four boards.

Midland (7-12, 3-9 GPAC) will return home to host GPAC opponent Mount Marty (2-17, 1-11 GPAC) this Wednesday night looking to redeem a road loss earlier this season. Tip-off will start at 6 p.m. in Wikert Event Center for the matchup.  

Share:

© 2024 Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information