Nicole Gall had 33 points in College of Idaho's national tournament game Wednesday.
Yotes Fall Despite 33 Points by Nicole Gall
SIOUX CITY, Iowa -- Despite a 33-point effort from Nicole Gall, The College of Idaho dropped their first-round NAIA Division II National Tournament game to defending national champion, Northwestern College, 96-78, inside the Tyson Events Center.
It marked the third-straight year that the Lady Yotes (18-14) have lost a first-round game at the National Tournament, and it marks the third time that Northwestern has eliminated The C of I from the tourney (2000, 2001, 2011).
The Coyotes hung with the No. 2 ranked Red Raiders (31-1) for the first ten minutes, grabbing leads of 5-3 and 8-7, pulling even at 21-21 on a pair of Gall free throws with 9:43 left in the period. However a pair of Alli Dunkelberger buckets keyed a 9-0 Northwestern run to give the Orange City, Iowa, school the lead for good. The C of I clawed within 37-31 on a Brianna Hansen basket, but a late 12-2 run to close the half gave NC a 51-36 lead at the break.
The second half saw the Lady Yotes get within 50-37 with 15:25 remaining on a Hansen lay-up, but the Red Raiders put the game away with a 18-4 run, including eight points from All-American Becca Hurley – pushing the lead to as many as 28.
The Red Raiders hit 54-percent of their field goal attempts in the win, while getting to the foul line 37 times. Northwestern won despite 31 turnovers, using a commanding 48-33 edge on the glass for the victory.
Hurley led NC with 22 points and six rebounds, connecting on 11-of-13 free throw attempts. Kendra DeJong added 17 points and ten rebounds, while Allison Hulst added 13 points and six boards.
Gall capped her C of I career with her sixth 30-or-more point scoring effort of the year – her school-record ninth such game in her career, and her 73rd double-figure game as a Lady Yote. The senior hit seven three-pointers in the loss, while adding six rebounds and seven steals, finishing her career with 1,625 points at The C of I.
Fellow senior, Tyra Rickman capped her career with her second double-double of the year, scoring 11 points and adding 10 rebounds, with Katelin Shannon adding 11 points, including 9-of-10 shooting from the line.
The loss also capped the career for four other seniors – as Hansen scored six points, Nicole Bruce had four points and four rebounds, Rachel Rasmussen had two points, with Kathryn Beus adding one rebound.