Box Score
MADISON Wis. - Every basketball team wants momentum heading into the postseason, and few teams will be able to carry more than the Edgewood College women. The Eagles won their eighth straight and their 18th in 20 outings, defeating Aurora University 69-48 in the inaugural Northern Athletics Conference Challenge, pitting the North Division against the South Division.
The game opened with both team trading early baskets until Aurora had opened a 10-8 advantage. At that point, Janelle Gosh buried a three-pointer, followed a few minutes later by a Shae Beckwith three-pointer, which gave the Eagles the lead they would never surrender. A 12-2 run featuring four points each from Gosh and Brianna Droessler pushed the lead to 28-17 with six minutes to play in the first half. However, the Eagles would go scoreless for the final three minutes and lead by just seven at the break.
The Spartans cut the lead to 38-36 early in the second half forcing an Eagle timeout, but the Eagles stormed out of the huddle with a decisive 17-2 run to forge a 55-38 lead with 10 minutes to play. Droessler sparked the run with a pair of steals and Megan Scheele tallied seven points in the spurt. The Eagles would hold the Spartans scoreless over the final four minutes of the game and Kacy Sporle added a pair of buckets for the final 21-point margin.
Scheele led Edgewood College (18-6) in scoring for the 22nd time this season tallying 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Three other Eagles cracked double digits with Gosh and Droessler going for 12 and Ashley Averkamp chipping in 10. The Eagles defense forced 23 Spartan turnovers, led by Droessler and Lexie Schmitgen who had four steals apiece. The Eagles shot 51.7 percent in the second half to blow the game open.
Aurora University (16-9) was led by center Michelle Perry's 16 points, while Kim Voiles notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ashlet Daniels also reached double figures with 11 points. The Spartans went just 5-for-25 (20 percent) in the second half and did not make a three-point basket.
With a second place finish in the NAC North Division, Edgewood College has been awarded the third seed for the NAC Women's Basketball Tournament which begins on Tuesday. The Eagles will host sixth-seeded MSOE in a quarterfinal game which will tipoff at 7:00 p.m. For the first time in league history, the winner of the NAC Tournament will earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
