March 10, 2006

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - Northwestern College (Iowa) edged Indiana Wesleyan University, 68-65, in a nail-biter Friday evening in the second round of the 15^th annual NAIA Division II Women's Basketball National Championship. The 2006 event is being held at the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa.

 

Indiana Wesleyan led by as many as eight and Northwestern seven,  but neither was able to pull away. The Lady Wildcats of Indiana Wesleyan took their biggest lead, 16-8, early in the first half thanks in part to an 8-0 run. The Red Raiders pulled even at 18 with 10:45 left in the first half. From that point on the teams traded punches much like a heavyweight fighter. Northwestern held a slim advantage, 37-36 at intermission.

 

Things started slowly in the second half, as neither team was able to get on the board until 18:40 when Katrina Spitler drained a three to give the Lady Wildcats the lead. The word "slow" wouldn't be mentioned the rest of way as the teams put on a classic battle.

 

Northwestern was able to open up a seven-point cushion behind the scoring of Deb Remmerde. Remmerde finished with 38 points, 22 coming in the second half. She was the only Red Raider to score in the final 3:08, tallying 11 points.

 

Indiana Wesleyan made things interesting down the stretch, as Brooke Amstutz hit a pair of three-point field goals in the final 88 seconds to keep within striking distance. With the under five seconds left Northwestern had the ball and the lead, 68-65. The Red Raiders inbounded the ball and were immediately tied up. Northwestern's retained the ball on alternating possession. On the proceeding play they took their final timeout as they were out unable to get the ball in play. With both teams out of timeouts, Northwestern threw the ball to mid-court where it was batted towards the endline as time expired.

 

Liz Howerth was one of three Lady Wildcats in double figures with 24 points. She also added six rebounds and four assists. Katrina Spitler and Sarah McGill each chipped in with 11 points. Spitler was 3 of 7from beyond the arc.

 

Both teams shot the ball well as Northwestern  was 49 percent from the floor and Indiana Wesleyan was 42.9 percent.

 

For Northwestern, Remmerde was the only player to reach double digits, as she accounted for 55 percent of the Red Raiders total offensive output. Remmerde, who set the tournament record for three-point field goals (10) last night, added five more and was a perfect 9 of 9 at the charity stripe.

 

With the win Northwestern will play in the quarterfinals at 3:00 p.m. against Cedarville University (Ohio) who moved on earlier in the day with an 86-56 win over Bryan College (Tenn.). This will be the Red Raiders third appearance in the quarterfinals.

 

For more information on the Division II Women's Basketball National Championship log on to www.naia.org.

 

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