LINCOLN, Neb. – Nationally-ranked Wartburg used their length on the perimeter and inside to shut down the Nebraska Wesleyan offense as the Knights defeated the Prairie Wolves 86-55 in American Rivers women's basketball action on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 12) at Snyder Arena.
 
NWU drops their third straight game to fall to 3-3 in league play and 8-7 overall.  After losing their first conference game since 2017 on Wednesday, the No. 18 Knights improved to 12-3 and 5-1 in league play.
 
Wartburg was dominant on the inside as they outrebounded the Prairie Wolves by a 55-24 advantage, including 18 offensive rebounds.  The Knights scored 52 points inside the paint, compared to 20 for NWU.
 
Once again it was the second quarter that was the problem for the Prairie Wolves.  NWU trailed by only six points at the end of the first period, but the Wolves were outscored 23-7 in the second quarter making it 43-21 at the break.
 
A long scoring drought to end the half doomed NWU as they did not make a field goal the final 5:47 scoring just one point.  Warburg went on a 14-1 run during that stretch.
 
In the second half, NWU bung close with Wartburg but the deficit was too much to overcome.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan shot just 34.4 percent from the field, making 7-25 on 3-point attempts.  Wartburg ended the game at 49.2 percent overall.  The Knights were 19-24 at the free throw line, compared to NWU making only 4-9.
 
Adrienne Boettger led Wartburg with 28 points on 9-13 shooting.  Emma Gerdes and Tori Hazard both had 10 rebounds for the Knights.
 
NWU was led by Caitlin Navratil who scored 19 poins with seven rebounds and four steals.  She was the lone Prairie Wolf in double figures.