Box Score NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College women's basketball team rallied in the fourth quarter to come away with a 59-55 victory over the University of Northwestern on Wednesday evening at Skoglund Center.

After trailing by as many as 10 early in the second quarter, St. Olaf (2-0) held Northwestern (1-1) to 20 second-half points and eventually rallied past the Eagles in the fourth quarter. The Oles did not lead until senior Joy Brandenstein's three-pointer on the opening possession of the fourth.

Sophomore Erin Schauer led St. Olaf with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field while going 3-for-4 from three-point range and 4-for-5 at the free-throw line. First year Sami Sarner was also in double figures with 10 points and was 2-for-4 from behind the arc. Brandenstein added nine points, while junior Elise Hahn pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Lydia Schmitter matched Schauer with 19 points for the Eagles to go with nine rebounds, four steals, three assists, and one blocked shot. Joanna Talso came off the bench to provide 13 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Carli Mattes was 4-for-5 from the field on her way to an 11-point night.

Northwestern got out to a 13-5 lead over the first five-plus minutes and was still up eight at 20-12 with 1:40 to go in the opening quarter before a three-pointer by Schauer made it a five-point game heading to the second. The Eagles extended their lead to as many as 10 twice in the first 2:29 of the second quarter and were up 35-30 at halftime after shooting 53.8 percent (14-for-26) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.

St. Olaf trimmed its deficit to two at 37-35 on a three-point play by Schauer with 7:15 left in the third and was within one two minutes later on a Schauer three-pointer but was not able to tie it or take the lead until the fourth. Three minutes into the fourth, sophomore Emmanuella Sennowo made back-to-back layups to give the Oles the lead for good at 51-48.

After Northwestern got within a point, Brandenstein found Schauer for a three-pointer with 3:45 left that put St. Olaf on top by a 56-52 margin. From there, the remaining six points were all scored at the free-throw line, with sophomore Hallie Koltz knocking down two three-pointers with four seconds left to make it a two-possession game and seal the win.

The Oles will be back at home on Sunday, Nov. 15 for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Grinnell College.