ST. PAUL - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team was unable to keep pace with University of Northwestern-St. Paul in an 86-31 loss Saturday.

The Eagles got off to a scintillating start offensively, scoring 30 first-quarter points and making 20 of their first 26 shots in the first half. UNW led 48-14 at the half on the way to a win.

The MLC defense was able to slow down the UNW offense from its torrid early pace in the final two quarters, but the Eagles still shot 58.7 percent from the field for the game. The Knights were unable to keep UNW out of the paint as the Eagles outscored MLC 50-14 in points in the paint.

Kati Aguliar led MLC with eight points. Sarah Dewey added seven points and three steals, while Samantha Paul grabbed seven rebounds.

MLC fell to 1-14 on the season and 1-6 in UMAC play in defeat. UNW improved to 8-8 overall and 5-2 in league play with the win.

The Knights will return to action on Wednesday, January 16, when they host Crown College in a game scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m.