From Jamestown Athletics

ORANGE CITY, Iowa (jimmiepride.com) –  For the second straight game the University of Jamestown women’s basketball team found themselves in a game down to the wire with a Top-15 team. Unfortunately, the Jimmies were met with the same result.

Clutch free throw shooting by the 13th-ranked Northwestern Red Raiders preserved a 72-66 win over the Jimmies Friday evening in GPAC action.

Jamestown trailed by seven after Jada Cunningham sank a pair of free throws with 4:36 left to make it 62-55. Nine of the next 13 points went the way of the Jimmies, and with 55 seconds left, Audrey Rodakowski (SO/Dickinson, ND) converted a three-point play to bring UJ with a pair at 66-64.

After Molly Schany scored to put NWC ahead by four, Noelle Josephson (SR/Ramsey, MN) picked off a Maddie Jones pass and took it the other way for a layup to make it 68-66 with nine seconds left. Josephson was fouled on the play, and missed the ensuing free throw, which was rebounded by the Red Raiders.

Jones was fouled with four seconds remaining and made her foul shots, then Devyn Kemble added two more free throws to close out the game.

Josephson had a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds and added four steals and three assists. Kia Tower (JR/Bigfork, MN) was also in double figures with 17 points while Hannah DeMars (JR/Grand Rapids, MN) finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.

Jamestown trailed 19-14 after the first as Josephson had 12 of the Jimmies’ first 14 points. Once again in the second quarter, the Jimmies were outscored by five, and the Northwestern lead was 35-25 at the break.

Tower had 11 points in the third, including three three-pointers as the Jimmies shot 56 percent to help cut the lead to seven going into the final quarter.

UJ, now 11-6 overall and 4-5 in the GPAC, plays at Dordt (Iowa) University Saturday afternoon.