The Northwestern women’s basketball team came into the season with lofty expectations and they are third ranked in the NAIA poll heading into Friday night’s game at William Penn. Coach Earl Woudstra’s team did not have a senior a year ago and the Red Raiders finished 26-9 and made it all the way to the Final Four. They are 9-2 this season and Woudstra feels the players have done a good job of handling the expectations.
Woudstra says it’s not much fun to have a target on your back, but it is fun to know you have a good team and you need to perfom well.
Woudstra says experience is one of their biggest strengths. He says even their young players have some big game experience playing in the national tournament. Plus he says they play in a great conference.
The Raiders feature balanced scoring and depth. He says they have four kids averaging in double figures and he feels like they have 10 kids that can contribute. The Red Raiders average nearly 78 points a game and on defense opponents are shooting just 34 percent, including just 27% from three point range.
He says they have tried to build the defense on not giving up easy baskets and making sure very shot is contested. Northwestern will close out the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule on Saturday with a visit to Central College.