Brainerd, Minn. - 

The Northland Community & Technical College Women's Basketball team picked up where it left off at the end of the first semester with a dominant 80-51 win over Ridgewater College Sunday evening. The game was Northland's first in 15 days.  
"Overall, we were very happy with our performance yesterday," said Northland Head Coach Shannon Nelson. "There is always a little rust coming back after such a long break, but I feel like this team is continuing to build and get better each game. We took care of the ball yesterday and shot well from the perimeter. We also had a lot of different players contribute on both ends of the floor and our depth gave them problems."
Sunday's game was part of the Central Lakes Classic in Brainerd. It marked the second meeting of the 2024-25 season between the Pioneers and Warriors, with Northland also winning the first meeting by a score of 72-51 on Dec. 13. It was also a milestone game for the Pioneers, with Head Coach Shannon Nelson notching her 300th career coaching win. 
The Warriors, who had just five players in uniform, kept pace with the second-ranked Pioneers early in the contest. The Pioneers led 14-11 at the halfway point of the opening quarter, before outscoring the Warriors 9-2 over the final five minutes. 
The Pioneers led 23-13 at the end of one quarter and added to their lead with a 22-16 second-quarter advantage.
The Pioneers led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, but the Warriors outscored the Pioneers 15-11 over the final seven minutes of the quarter to stay within 16 points. 
The fourth quarter belonged to the Pioneers. They held the Warriors to just five points – all of which came from the foul line – as the Warriors went 0-for-14 in fourth-quarter field goal attempts. In contrast, the Pioneers converted eight of their 16 fourth-quarter shots, including a pair of three-point buckets by Sarah Prodzinski.
Five Pioneers finished in double figures. Sophomore Tiyana Schwinghammer led the way with 16 points and a team-high seven assists.  Sophomore Josie Iverson scored 14 points. Freshmen Jade Reese and Rylie Klopp scored 10 points each and freshman Sarah Prodzinski scored 11 points coming off the bench.
Nelson's 300th win
Nelson was hired as the ninth head coach in program history in October 2010, after her predecessor, Guy Finstrom, who also served as head football and head softball coach for the Pioneers, resigned unexpectedly at the start of the month. 
Nelson's Pioneers have won the MCAC Northern Division outright or tied for the division championship every year since 2011. Nelson's resume also includes eight Region13B championships, 10  national tournament appearances, two national runner-up finishes in 2016 and 2020, respectively, and a national championship in 2014. 
Nelson was quick to praise the efforts of her coaching staff, as well as current and former players, in helping her reach this milestone. 
"I feel very fortunate that I have been able to be a part of this program for what is now my 14th season," Nelson said. "I am proud of the work our coaching staff has done to build this program, and I am especially proud of the players who have come through it. We can't win games without players buying in and committing to the process and how we do things. Ultimately, that's why we do what we do – to give the players who come through our program the best possible experience." 

Ridgewater College vs. Northland Community & Technical College December 29, 2024

(0-2)
51

(2-0)
80

Final	1	2	3	4	T
Ridgewater College	13	16	17	5	51
Northland Community & Technical College	23	22	17	18	80

Box Score

Ridgewater College

Player	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
STARTERS
3Julia Hines	40	4-15	4-12	1-2	0	1	1	2	2	0	2	1	13
11Grace Jackson	40	3-13	1-3	0-0	1	1	2	0	1	0	5	2	7
13Kaydence Bertram	40	2-8	2-3	2-2	2	13	15	3	1	0	4	1	8
15Shakira Olson	40	4-12	2-8	0-0	0	4	4	0	1	0	0	2	10
23Lily Dean	40	4-9	1-3	4-4	1	5	6	8	0	0	3	0	13
RESERVES
TMTeam					0	0	0				0	0
TOTALS		17-57	10-29	7-8	4	24	28	13	5	0	14	6	51
		29.8%	34.5%	87.5%

Northland Community & Technical College

Player	MIN	FGM-A	3PM-A	FTM-A	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
STARTERS
1Josie Iverson	36	5-9	4-7	0-0	2	2	4	6	2	0	1	1	14
5Tiyana Schwinghammer	27	7-13	0-1	2-2	2	4	6	7	1	3	1	0	16
10Hannah Halvorson	24	2-9	0-1	3-5	3	4	7	0	0	1	2	1	7
11Jade Reese	30	4-8	1-2	1-2	3	5	8	4	2	0	4	2	10
12Rylie Klopp	21	5-8	0-0	0-0	3	3	6	0	0	0	0	1	10
RESERVES
2Leslie Murken	9	2-4	2-4	0-0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6
3Teagyn Fitzsimonds	18	0-8	0-3	0-0	0	1	1	2	0	0	0	2	0
13Sierra Westberg	7	1-2	0-0	0-0	0	2	2	0	0	0	1	0	2
21Sarah Prodzinski	16	4-4	3-3	0-0	0	5	5	0	1	2	1	2	11
25Kinsley Hanson	12	2-10	0-0	0-0	2	4	6	1	0	0	0	0	4
TMTeam					0	0	0				0	0
TOTALS		32-75	10-21	6-9	15	30	45	20	7	6	10	9	80
		42.7%	47.6%	66.7%

Game Information

Date/Time	December 29, 2024 - 5:00 PM
Location	CLC
Technical fouls	Ridgewater College-None ; Northland Community & Technical College-None .