GARY, Ind.  — The Indiana Northwest women's basketball team showed resilience Monday afternoon, overcoming multiple injuries to secure a hard-fought 64-62 victory over Indiana East at the Savannah Center. Missing several players, including the nation's leading scorer, Jessica Carrothers, the RedHawks relied on their six-player rotation to grind out the win and improve to 10-3 overall.

Senior guard Katelyn Halfacre stepped up in a big way for Indiana Northwest, leading the team with 20 points. She was clutch down the stretch, hitting 9 of 10 free throws, including several in the final minutes to fend off the Red Wolves' late rally. Emma Schmidt added 19 points and shot 3-for-5 from beyond the arc while pulling down five rebounds. Tiara Jackson anchored the defense with a double-double, contributing 11 points and 12 rebounds in just 23 minutes before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

The RedHawks came out firing in the first quarter, connecting on five 3-pointers to take a 19-16 lead. They carried that momentum into the second quarter, where a balanced scoring attack helped extend their lead to 34-28 at halftime. Indiana Northwest continued to dominate in the third quarter, outscoring Indiana East 17-13 to push the margin to double digits.

Indiana East (5-7), however, refused to go quietly. Led by a dazzling performance from Taylor Farris, who poured in a game-high 28 points on 8-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc, the Red Wolves stormed back in the fourth quarter. They outscored Indiana Northwest 21-13 in the final period, trimming what had been a 16-point deficit to just two in the closing seconds and had an opportunity to tie or win the game, but were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.

Indiana Northwest's composure at the free-throw line proved to be the difference. The RedHawks hit 11 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter, with Halfacre and Schmidt combining to go 15-for-16 for the game. Defensively, Indiana Northwest forced 17 turnovers and limited Indiana East to just 37.3% shooting from the field.

Indiana East received additional contributions from Abbie Lucas, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Trinity Archey, who added 10 points and seven boards off the bench. Despite their late surge, the Red Wolves were unable to complete the comeback, in part due to Indiana Northwest's strong defensive rebounding and second-half adjustments.

The RedHawks will return to action after the new year when they travel to Bourbonnais, Illinois to face CCAC opponent Olivet Nazarene. The game will be played on Saturday, January 4 with tip-off scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.


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Recap by PJ Katona