Women's Basketball Fall to Northeastern in Home Opener

FHNW Women's Basketball fell just short against the Northeastern Junior College Plainswomen Friday evening, coming up one point shy in a 54–55 battle.

Zoey Burton and Marta Rodriguez opened the scoring for the Lady Tigers, each knocking down early three-pointers. The first quarter remained tightly contested, with FHNW applying steady defensive pressure and holding a narrow 13–9 lead heading into the second. Northeastern would have several brief offense surges in the second quarter, tying up the game multiple times before briefly taking the lead with just under the two-minute mark. The Lady Tigers would quickly take the lead back, finishing the half up 26-25. 

Northeastern would quickly tie up the score to start the second half, before taking a 5-point lead 31-26, prompting Tech to call a quick timeout. The Lady Tigers continued to battle, but Northeastern maintained the edge throughout the third quarter, sending FHNW into the final quarter trailing 41-44. Northeastern would quickly extend their lead out to eight points to start the fourth quarter, before the Lady Tigers cut the lead to five again. Tech would continue to exchange buckets with their opponent, with Northeastern continuing to maintain a narrow lead. Then with 1:13 remaining, Tech would go to the foul line, splitting the pair to bring the score within three. FHNW secured the offensive rebound, and Zarria Thomas converted a layup to make it 52–53 with under a minute to play.

Northeastern returned to the line with 26 seconds remaining and pushed their lead back to three. FHNW raced down the court and drew a foul with 10 seconds left, and Marieke Acthun calmly knocked down both free throws to pull the Tigers back within one. The Lady Tigers would quickly foul the Plainswomen to send them to the free throw line, where they missed both free throws. With seven seconds left, FHNW pushed the ball up the floor to take a potentially game-winning shot that ultimately would not fall. 

Looking at the stat sheet, it's evident that Tech played tough defense throughout the game, forcing quite a few turnovers. However, they were unable to capitalize offensively, shooting 16-66 from the field while Northeastern shot 17-56. Vitória Fernandes would be the lone Tiger in double figures with 12 points.

The Lady Tigers will return to play on Wednesday, November 19th, at Pratt Community College in their first conference game of the season.