Alex Espinoza scored a career high 27 points in the LumberJills' UMAC opening victory on Friday night. Northland defeated Martin Luther 81-74 to secure their third straight win.

Box Score

The Northland College Women's Basketball team began conference play on Friday night. The LumberJills played their first of two opening weekend road contests, first against Martin Luther College. After being tied at the half the Jills were able hold off the Knights for their third straight win.

The LumberJills fell behind after shooting just 20% from the floor in the first quarter. The Jills shot 1-of-8 from the three point line and the Knights took advantage jumping out to a ten point lead after one. The Jills were able to flip the script in quarter number two. Miranda Wagner opened the second quarter with a layup. Martin Luther made a pair of free-throws to keep the lead at 10. Alex Espinoza hit shots on back-to-back possessions to cut the deficit to six, before Ashley Lopez hit a three-pointer to get the Jills with a single possession. Espinoza hit another jumper to cut the Martin Luther lead to one with 6:14 to play in the quarter. After the two teams exchanged baskets on the next few possessions Martin Luther started to pull back away with a six point lead. Wagner hit shots on consecutive possessions to get the team back within two. Lopez's jumper with 2:23 left evened the score for the first time since early in the first. With :46 left the Knights hit a three-pointer to jump back in front, before Bailey Wynn hit a three of her own to answer and keep the LumberJills tied. Lopez was able to beat the buzzer with a layup to send the teams to the break tied at 42.

Northland and Martin Luther exchanged baskets for the first three minutes of the third quarter. Martin Luther hit a three at the 7:02 mark to tie the game at 49. The LumberJills proceeded to go on a 9-0 run, holding the Knights scoreless over the next three minutes. Martin Luther's layup with seven seconds left cut the Jills lead to five heading into the final quarter. Northland lead by as many as six for a majority of the fourth quarter's first six minutes. The Knights hit a three at the 4:17 mark to cut the lead to three. After a missed three for the Jills, Lopez's offensive rebound kept the possession alive and allowed her to find Wagner for the easy layup. A foul on the play sent Wagner to the line, where she completed the three-point play to extend the lead back to six. The two team's exchanged misses before the Knights had to resort to intentional fouls. Espinoza hit three free-throws in the final :40 to seal the victory. 

Espinoza had a career-high 27 points and a game-high 13 boards to complete one of three LumberJill double-doubles on the night. Wagner, the reigning UMAC player of the week, added 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Lopez contributed 12 points and 10 boards. Lopez finished with 8 assists as well. Bailey Wynn tallied 13 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. 

Northland (3-4, 1-0 UMAC) will conclude the conference opening weekend on Saturday at Bethany Lutheran. Tip off is scheduled for 4:45 PM.


Northland College is an NCAA Division III institution located in Ashland, WI. The LumberJacks and LumberJills sponsor 14 varsity sports and compete in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference, Midwest Lacrosse Conference and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.