New Ulm, MN - MLC women's basketball finished the day of basketball in the LSC, with a conference opening matchup against Northland. The Lumberjills' Miranda Wagner won UMAC player of the week, due to her performances against Finlandia (31 points, and 16 rebounds) and Oak Hills Christian (10 points and 14 rebounds). The Knights were locked in to disrupt Wagner's momentum, but the senior guard had her third consecutive double-double, finishing the game with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The game featured four lead changes and the two teams had mostly equal time with the lead (Northland-17:31, MLC- 17:09). The back and forth pace of the game went down to the final minutes, where it was ultimately won due to the backcourt play of Northland, resulting in an 81-74 victory for the Lumberjills. 

    The Knights got a great start to the game from Jordyn Heckendorf, who went 3-of-5 (60 percent) from 3-point territory, shooting the ball with a lot of confidence. Heckendorf led MLC with 13 points in the first half. 

In the second half, Northland started to hit timely 3-pointers from Alex Espinoza, who led her team with 27 points and 13 rebounds. The guard kept Northland composed and was in control of the offense, making the right play that was needed in late game situations. Fellow guard Ashley Lopez played critical minutes for the Lumberjills, securing a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). The Northland backcourt was undersized, but played with a lot of grit and as a team out rebounded MLC (52-41). 

Despite Heckendorf's stellar first half, the junior guard was held scoreless in the second half. Emma Nelson would lead the Knights in scoring throughout the four quarters with 19 points. 

The MLC Knights (4-4,0-1) play UW-Superior on Saturday, December 10th, as they look to snap a two-game skid.