PORTLAND – Northwest ended its season-long road drought Friday with a come-from-behind 83-81 win at Warner Pacific.
 
"I could not be prouder of a group of young women with the way all 14 of them competed tonight," said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "At halftime, we talked about getting back on an even keel and then playing the way that we knew how to play. They responded in such a magnificent way. We learned a lot. We will celebrate and then get ready for tomorrow!"
 
The win stopped an eight-game road slide.
 
The Eagles led 20-11 after the first quarter and had a 12-point lead early in the second quarter before Warner Pacific caught fire. The Knights hit 13 of their next 18 shots and scored on 16 of their next 19 possessions to take a 47-31 lead into the locker room at halftime.
 
The WPU lead peaked at 48-31 before the Eagles got to work. Livi Lindsey scored eight points, and Lexi Biggerstaff and Maya DuChesne added six each as Northwest knocked the Knights' lead down to 61-57 heading into the final frame.
 
Warner restocked the lead to eight points in the first two points of the fourth quarter, but Sam Van Loo and Ellesse FitzGerald scored baskets, and Grace Meza drilled a three-pointer to make it a one-point game just 51 seconds later.
 
Van Loo tied the game with 6:09 to play, and Lindsey got the Eagles their first lead of the half with a basket in the paint with 5:20 remaining. FitzGerald followed up with a three-pointer to put the Eagles ahead 76-71.
 
Anna Farner scored to tie the game for WPU with 30 seconds left, but DuChesne scored with a feed from Van Loo with 13 seconds left for the 83-81 lead.
 
The Knights got off two shots by Courtney Jackson in the final 10 seconds but failed to change the scoreboard.
 
Northwest put up 52 points in the second half.
 
Lindsey led the Eagles with 19 points, while Van Loo and Andie Kristinat added 10 apiece. DuChesne, who did not attempt a shot until the third quarter, had 11 points, and Grace Meza added 10. Kristinat was five for five from the field to lead an Eagles' squad that shot a season-best 62 percent for the evening.  The Eagles also posted their best mark of the season from the arch (6-10) and with 24 assists.
 
Meza and Van Loo had six rebounds apiece. Van Loo and DuChesne had five assists each. Lindsey led the defense with three steals.
 
The Eagles improved to 5-13 overall and 3-5 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference with a 5:30 p.m. game at Multnomah coming on Saturday.