SUPERIOR, Wis. – Early on, the Yellowjacket women's basketball team was one of the surprises in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
In the pre-season coach's poll, the Yellowjackets were chosen to finish sixth. And after taking some lumps courtesy of a difficult early-season schedule, the Yellowjackets jumped out to a 3-0 start in UMAC play. Last weekend, however, the Yellowjackets dropped from the top of the conference to the garbled middle, sitting tied for second with three other teams, all of which had a conference mark of 3-2.

Friday night, the Yellowjackets looked to get back in the win column and keep pace with the rest of the teams at the top of the conference, as they returned home to take on Northwestern.

The Yellowjackets started slowly, but hung around and put themselves in a position to win in the second half. Time wasn't on their side, however, as the Yellowjackets couldn't overcome the deficit and dropped their third in a row, 46-41 to Northwestern Friday at Mertz Mortorelli Gym.
 
It was a tough night of shooting for the Yellowjackets, as they scored just 17 points on 6-of-32 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Northwester, however, wasn't much better, hitting on 7-of-22 shots in the first half.
 
Northwestern scored the first five points of the game and led 10-3 before Sam Parendo (Proctor, Minn./Proctor) cut the lead in half, hitting a jumper in the paint with just over four minutes to go in the first quarter. Chloe Peterson (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson) followed with a three as time expired, and the Yellowjackets were down two, 10-8, at the end of the first quarter.
 
Early in the second the Yellowjackets tied the game on a pair of Elise Besonen (Ewen, Mich./Ewen-Trout Creek) free throws, but again the Eagles pulled ahead. Northwestern built the lead to as many as five before the Yellowjackets began clawing their way back. Erika Mattson (Ely, Minn./Ely Memorial) hit a pair of shots, including a three late in the quarter, pulling the Yellowjackets to within four at the half, 21-17.
 
In the second half the Yellowjackets found their shooting touch. They traded buckets with Northwestern, and in the final minute of the third quarter Mady Sanders (Lino Lakes, Minn./Centennial) made a pair of free throws, getting the Yellowjackets to within three at 32-29.
 
The 'Jackets had their best shooting of the night happen in the fourth quarter. Kaelyn Christian (St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville Senior) led the way, scoring the first five points of the quarter, and just like that the home team came all the way back and led for the first time in the game, 34-33. After a defensive stop, Sanders made a layup to increase the Yellowjacket lead to three. Northwestern regained the lead with just over six minutes to play and built the cushion up to six, but the Yellowjackets, led by Christian came back again.
 
With just 11 seconds to play, Christian made the first of two free throws, pulling the Yellowjackets to within one, 42-41. She would miss the second free throw, and Northwestern ran out the clock, getting the win, 46-41.
 
Christian led all scorers with 13 points in 30 minutes played. Katie Dobson (Black River Falls, Wis./Black River Falls) scored five points, while Sanders scored three points and had a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Yellowjackets are back home Saturday afternoon, when they take on North Central in UMAC play. The opening tipoff from Mertz Mortorelli Gym is set for 4:45 p.m.