ST. PAUL, Minn. – The UW-Superior women's basketball team landed three players in double figures but Northwestern took control in the second and third quarters to hand the Yellowjackets their first loss of the season, 70-59, at the Ericksen Center on Thursday.
 
UNW (7-4, 1-1 UMAC) shot 16-for-29 in the middle two periods for 55 percent to ensure the victory after UWS 2-1, 1-1) held a slim 14-12 lead through the first quarter.
 
Sophomore Kaija Davies (Aitkin, Minn./Aitkin) paced the Yellowjackets with 16 points and 11 rebounds for her first career double-double while classmates Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) and Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Eagles got a game-high 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting from Megan Roberts as well as 17 points from Kelsea Lund and 13 from Brooklyn DeKam.
 
The win for the Eagles is just the third in the last 19 games in the series dating to Dec. 8, 2010, an 81-80 overtime UNW victory.
 
Christian drained two of her three made 3-pointers in the first quarter, the second of which cut the deficit to one with under three minutes to play. Sanders followed with layup on the next possession to give her team a 12-11 lead. Miranda Broberg's (Milaca, Minn./Milaca) bucket with inside of a minute to play gave UWS a three-point edge and capped a 9-0 run. 
 
With the game tied at 14-14 early in the second quarter, Christian ran off the next five points with a 3-pointer and a fasbreak jumpshot in quick succession for a 19-14 advantage with 8:19 left in the half. The Eagles, though, used an 8-0 run to retake the lead at 24-21 with five minutes remaining.
 
The 'Jackets took a brief 26-24 lead on a pair of free throws from Bryton Kukowski (Duluth, Minn./Hermantown), but a Hailey Paup layup and Lund trey gave the Northwestern the lead for good. The Eagles went into halftime up, 34-30.
 
The Eagles scored the first five of the second half, and grew the lead to double digits for the first time in the game at 43-33 on a Courtney Schmidt basket with less than six minutes left in the third quarter. Christian converted a layup with 1:10 remaining, cutting the deficit to 51-47, but that was as close as UWS crept the rest of the night. Northwestern racked up a 12-0 run, spanning the quarter break to lead 63-47 with 7:59 left and cruised to victory from there.
 
UNW shot 26-of-65 from 40 percent from the floor for the game while the 'Jackets hit 24 of their 67 attempts for 36 percent. UWS held a 47-39 advantage on the glass, but turned the ball over 20 times, leading to 22 Eagles' points.
 
UWS returns home Saturday at 3 p.m., for another tough test, hosting defending UMAC champion Bethany Lutheran.