CHICAGO, IL - Following the graduation of 2,000 point scorer and NCCAA All-American Dani Norton a year ago, it probably wouldn't be unfair for one to question where PBU's scoring might come from during this year's campaign.

Although that question wasn't answered in full Thursday evening, the Crimson Eagles' youthful roster nevertheless demonstrated that - despite their collective lack of experience - they're more than capable of putting up points.

After managing just seven 60-plus point outings a year ago, the basketball team hit the barrier on opening night during their match-up with Northland International Thursday evening, downing the Lady Pioneers 60-47.

The Crimson Eagles wasted little time going to work, jumping out to a substantial lead early on in the opening frame, going up by as much as 10 midway through the stanza. However, a Northland push during the tail end of the period saw the deficit cut to four by the intermission.

"We missed a ton of putbacks in the opening half," head coach Drew Watson noted following the triumph. "They kept running at us and did a good job of staying in it after we had built up an early edge."

A similar story unfolded during the final 20 minutes as well. After watching PBU build up a comfortable 16 point edge seven minutes in, the Lady Pioneers continued to battle and made several late rallies down the home stretch. However, the young PBU squad proved resilient despite a poor shooting night from the field.

"I thought the second half we played well - although we also played young," Watson continued. "It was a good win in that hopefully this will help give us some confidence as a young team. We made some good plays and came up with several key baskets down the stretch, which I was obviously pleased with."

Despite a 32.9 percent shooting mark from the floor for the game, the Crimson Eagles' traditionally strong defensive front was well at work Tuesday, limiting the Pioneers to just eight first half field goals and a 29.6 percent clip during the opening stanza.

Perhaps most impressive, however, was the Crimson Eagles absolute dominance on the glass. PBU manhandled their counterpart on the interior, lugging in 25 offensive rebounds for the game, a stat that ultimately led to a 20-7 edge in second chance points. The number marks the team's greatest number of offensive boards in a single game since the 2006-07 season when the group pulled down 27 during a 31 point win over Valley Forge Christian College.

First year forward Danielle Bradley-Wilson led the charge in the paint for the Crimson Eagles, hauling in 18 boards for the game including 12 on the offensive end. Bradley-Wilson also put up a game high 17 points during her first ever collegiate game before fouling out late in the second period.

Hannah McCardle added 15 points and 6 rebounds including a 3 for 4 effort from downtown, and Careth Herron chipped in with 16 and 9, respectively.

The Crimson Eagles will continue action during the three-day tournament on Friday, going up against host Moody Bible College at 6:00 pm.