ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Macalester College women's basketball team lost a heartbreaker in overtime to the University of Northwestern, 79-68 Tuesday evening in the Leonard Center. The loss came in the home opener for the Scots, who are now 0-3 on the season. The Eagles improve to 1-4.
With Macalester trailing 15-12 to start the second quarter, three-pointers by junior guard
Justine Barraza (Burbank, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) and sophomore guard
Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) sparked an 8-2 run to give the Scots a 20-17 lead. The Eagles came back to lead by as many as three points before a layup by Barraza at the end of the half made the score 28-27 Northwestern at the break. Barraza scored 11 points to lead all players in the first half.
The Eagles came out of halftime hot, reeling off an 11-4 run to open the second half and build a 39-31 advantage with 6:30 left in the third quarter. From that point, it was Macalester that caught fire, outscoring Northwestern, 15-4 to lead 46-43 at the end of the quarter. A pair of threes from Sabbagh helped the Scots open the fourth quarter with an 11-2 spree for a 57-45 lead with just over six minutes to play.
The Eagles did not give up, answering with a 19-5 run to take a two-point edge, 64-62 with 33 second left. Barraza was fouled on the next possession and made two free throws to tie the score at 64-64. Sabbagh came up with a steal with seconds remaining in regulation, but she ran out of time before attempting a shot.
In overtime it was all Northwestern, as the Scots missed all nine of their field goal attempts in overtime, while the Eagles hit 13-of-15 from the free throw line. For the game, Northwestern made 24-of-31 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line compared to 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) for Macalester.
Barraza matched her career high with 27 points while making four three-pointers and recording three assists. Sabbagh recorded a career-best 20 points to go with five rebounds and three steals. Junior guard
Katie Sowerby (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais) also reached a career high with 11 rebounds to go with eight points and four assists. Senior guard
Holly Hull (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) added seven points and nine boards, while junior forward
Rose Lutz (Minneapolis, Minn./South) grabbed six rebounds. Kelsey Lund and Megan Roberts led Northwestern with 15 points apiece.
The Scots begin conference play on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Gustavus. The MIAC contest begins at 3:00 p.m. in St. Peter, Minn.
