ST. PAUL, Minn. — Despite the strong push from behind, the University of Northwestern- St. Paul women's basketball team fell to Gustavus Adolphus College 71-60 Saturday afternoon at the Ericksen Center.

The Gusties took off right out of the gate with an early 12-3 lead with 15:37 on the clock as head coach Aaron Kahl took their first Eagle timeout. Trying to narrow the visitor's margin, Northwestern continued to put up shots, but struggled to execute as the Gusties kept a comfortable 26-15 lead with seven minutes remaining in the half. A Chanel Madsen three pointer forced a Gustavus timeout with 6:26 on the clock. With a run of five points, including a pair of points behind the charity stripe by Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Osseo), the Eagles continued to narrow the visitor's lead to 28-23 with just under four minutes in the first half. Emily Van Lith (Minot, N.D./Our Redeemers) and Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) added two additional shots in the paint bringing the score to 27-28 as they trailed GAC by just one, forcing head coach Laurie Kelly to call a timeout for Gustavus with 2:49 remaining. Campbell drained a shot from behind the arc, tying the game at 30 at two minutes. Van Lith added two free throws as Northwestern took the lead for the first time of the night with 45 seconds left. As time ran out, UNW went into halftime at a 32-30 lead. 

As both teams battled back-and-forth, the point margin remained within three for the first seven minutes of play. Tiffany Stubbs (Ames, Iowa/Des Moines Christian) added a crowd-pleasing three pointer putting the Eagles up 39-37, but GAC responded with five quick points with 14:51 on the board. Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Osseo) added five points of her own thanks to two fouled shots in the paint. GAC's Miranda Rice responded with three points, tying the teams at 48 with 11:40 left in the game. Rice added two free throws as Gustavus took the lead once again. Hannah Howard sank a shot putting the visitors ahead 54-48 as Aaron Kahl called a timeout with 9:35 remaining. Madsen drained a three with just over six minutes left, hoping to narrow the Gusties lead. With a ten point advantage, GAC continued to hold momentum in the last few minutes of the period. Madsen added a bucket of her own with 2:19 to go, leaving the Eagles at a 65-57 deficit behind Gustavus. Despite a final push in the last two minutes, Northwestern couldn't overcome the Gustie advantage, falling 71-62.

Regan Cooper (Pella, Iowa/Osseo) led the Eagles with 13 points, closely followed by Emily Van Lith (Minot, N.D./Our Redeemers) with 12. Chanel Madsen and Kim Campbell (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) came in with 10 apiece. UNW came in at 44.6 percent of field goals made with only 23.1 percent of good three-pointers.

Gustavus Adolphus improves to 7-2 this season. Top scorers included Kelsey Carpenter (18), Mikayala Miller (15), and Miranda Rice (11). Collectively for the Gusties, 33.3 percent of field goals were made and an impressive 50 percent of three-pointers.

Northwestern (4-7) won't see the court again until January 10th when they host North Central University at 3 p.m. at the Ericksen Center.