KIRKLAND – Northwest overcame an early 11-point deficit and ran off to an 80-54 win over Warner Pacific Friday.
 
It marked the second time in three games that the Eagles found themselves down by double digits in the first quarter only to post a victory by an even larger margin.
 
NU (5-3) is on a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2016-17.
 
"It was a great overall effort today," said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "We continue to show the maturity we need to be competitive in this league. The challenge now will be playing this well again in less than 24 hours against a good Warner Pacific team on their home floor."
 
The Knights bolted to a 13-2 lead midway through the first quarter but Ellesse FitzGerald scored five points in a 14-5 NU run to bring the Eagles back to within 18-16 by the end of the quarter.
 
Northwest scored the first 10 points of the second quarter as Shelaine Lorenz poured in six points to put NU ahead for good, 27-18, with 5:40 remaining in the second quarter.
 
NU led 38-30 at the half.
 
Northwest finished the third quarter on an 11-0 run to take a 64-41 advantage into the fourth quarter. Andie Kristinat had five points in that flurry, including a three-pointer as the third quarter expired.
 
The NU lead peaked at 34 points, 76-42, on a three-point play by Emily Strojan with 5:55 to go in the fourth quarter.
 
Grace Meza led the Eagles with 14 points off the bench while Sam VanLoo dominated inside with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Maya DuChesne, Lorenz, and FitzGerald had eight points each.
 
All 17 Eagles played and had points, rebounds, or a steal.
 
Gabriella Bruno led the Knights (0-1) with 17 points, followed by Courtney Jackson with 15 and Nicole Mickelson with 12.
 
The same two teams meet for a 3 p.m. game in Portland Saturday.