MADISON, Wis. - Most teams might panic when they start a game 0-for-11 from the field, but most teams aren't Casey Plucinski's squad. Allison Novitske dropped in a career-high 15 points and the resilient Eagles overcame the coldest of cold starts to hang a 62-52 victory over Maranatha Baptist on Thursday night. Edgewood College evened their overall record at .500 and maintained a share of first place in the Northern Athletics Conference North Division.
Edgewood College (8-8, 7-2 NAC) did indeed miss their first 11 shots from the field, but it wasn't entirely poor marksmanship. Maranatha Baptist center Laci Peterson protected the basket like a redwood tree, blocking five shots before the Eagles got on the board. In all, the Crusaders blocked six of the Eagles first 11 shot attempts. Until the Eagles'Emily Anderson broke the ice with a three-pointer over six and a half minutes into the game, Edgewood College's defense kept them alive forcing two Crusader turnovers and limiting Maranatha to just five points.
The scoring came a little easier the rest of the way. The Eagles built an 11-0 run on top of Anderson's three-point basket, in large part to a three-point play from Novitske followed by a three-point basket on the next possession. Novitske, whose career-high was just six points entering the night, eventually hit four of her five three-point attempts on her way to a 15-point outburst. Edgewood College would never trail again, but Maranatha Baptist (7-3, 4-3 NAC) proved tough to eliminate.
The Eagles led 24-21 at halftime, but were clinging to a two-point lead at 49-47 when the Crusaders' Autumn Peotter converted a three-point play with 5:37 left. On the next possession, Novitske stuck her third triple of the night. Then following a pair of free throws from Peterson, Novitske and Kelsey Collins drained back-to-back three-point shots to put the Eagles ahead 58-49 with less than four minutes to go.
In addition to her career-high scoring total, Novitske also matched a career-high with three assists. Freshman Rachel Popeadded nine points on 4-for-5 shooting, while Mariah Hill scored eight points and also had three assists. Chelsey Watkinsadded seven points and a game-high five steals. Twelve of the 13 Eagles who played in the game scored a point. Thirteen of the Crusaders' 26 turnovers came from Eagle steals.
Peterson finished with 10 blocked shots in the game and was one of three Maranatha Baptist players to score in double figures. Peterson, Hallie Sheley and Kristin Morrison each had 10 points for the Crusaders. Peotter finished with nine points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Eagles share a three-way tie for first place in the NAC North Division with Concordia University Wisconsin and Alverno College, all at 7-2. With a season-long four game-winning streak on the line, Edgewood College will visit Benedictine University (6-8, 4-2 NAC) on Saturday. Saturday's contest will have a live webcast. Links for the game can be found on the front page of EdgewoodCollegeEagles.com.