BOX SCORE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- Western Michigan (1-1) pulled out a last minute victory over Northwestern, 64-61, at the Women's Sport Foundation Challenge in Albuquerque, N.M., Saturday night. Four players scored in double figures for the Broncos.
WMU trailed at the half, 33-27, and didn't take its first lead until midway through the second. On Northwestern's heels most of the night, things didn't look so good for the Brown & Gold with less than three and a half minutes remaining, as the Wildcats had built a six-point advantage, 58-52. That's when a young Bronco squad, 10 of which are freshmen or sophomores, showed great poise.
A pair of Tiera DeLaHoussaye free throws and an Ebony Cleary layup, followed by a made free throw by NU's Ellen Jaeschke put the Broncos within three. WMU then got a huge swing of momentum when freshman Brenna Banktson buried a three-pointer from the left wing to tie the game.
The Broncos got the ball back on a DeLaHoussaye steal and sophomore Molly Dwyer made one of the biggest plays of the night, driving right baseline and finishing a layup left-handed to give Western Michigan the edge, 61-59, with 1:36 remaining. Northwestern missed three crucial free throws over the following 1:24 and WMU's Sara Vest found herself all alone for a layup with 12 ticks left. The Wildcats produced a bucket after a timeout, leaving five seconds on the clock and a 63-61 score in Western Michigan's favor.
DeLaHoussaye was fouled on the inbound pass and was sent to the line with 3.8 left in the game. She knocked down the first of two free throws, but missed the second. Northwestern corralled the rebound, and a half-court desperation shot was no good as WMU celebrated the 64-61 victory.
“Molly might not come off as the most intimidating scorer, but she is a smart basketball player and does the little things,” WMU head coach Ron Stewart said. “That was a great move on the baseline. And with Tiera, you can tell the difference between Tiera the junior and Tiera the freshman. She made 9-of-12 free throws tonight and we got the ball, and wanted the ball, in her hands late the game.”
The win wasn't pretty, but was one the Broncos are happy to take. Western Michigan shot just 24 percent from the floor in the first half and 28 percent for the night. The Brown & Gold made up the difference at the charity stripe, where it scored over half of its points. WMU attempted three times as many free throws as Northwestern, hitting 29-of-36, an impressive 81 percent. NU, on the other hand would get just seven points from the line (7-for-12).
“Any time you shoot 28 percent and win a game, you are going to be happy,” Stewart said. “I thought both teams started off slow and a little sloppy, you could tell each played a hard game last night. We started going to the basket more in the second half and got in the bonus early, and that was huge for us.”
DeLaHoussaye paced the Bronco attack for the second-straight night, with 15 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Sara Vest tallied 11 points and seven boards, and Dwyer also chipped in 11. Banktson finished with 10 points and Sarah Dreher added seven.
A larger Northwestern team dominated inside play, scoring 44 of its points in the paint and owning a 50-39 advantage on the glass. The Wildcats were led by 19 points by Jaeschke, while Nadia Bibbs and Kaitlin McInerney scored 13 and 12, respectively.
Playing its third game in as many days, Western Michigan will conclude the Women's Sport Foundation Challenge Sunday, facing Dayton (2 p.m. ET). Dayton fell in overtime to Northwestern on Friday, 76-70, and plays New Mexico in the late game Saturday. WMU dropped it first game of the challenge against the host Lobos, 85-62. Games from New Mexico will be streamed live online through tournament central at www.GoLobos.com.
