For the first time in the Kristen Gillespie era, the Benedictine University women's basketball team is headed to the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament Championship game. On Saturday, the team will head north to Milwaukee to face top-seeded and five-time NACC Tournament champion Wisconsin Lutheran College for a 7:00 p.m. tip.
 
BenU reaches the tournament title game by way of 12-point victories in both the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Last Saturday, the second-seeded Eagles (18-9, 16-4) began the tournament with a 78-66 victory over Lakeland College, shooting 51% from the floor. On Wednesday night, Benedictine took on third-seeded Milwaukee School of Engineering and outscored the Raiders by 15 in the second half to win 71-59.
 
Senior guard Meghan Novak tallied 35 points in the two games, and junior point guard Alanna Ferry played one of her best games as an Eagle against MSOE, accumulating 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals in the win.  BenU defeated the Raiders owning a 36-28 advantage on the glass, snapping a streak of nine consecutive games where the Eagles outrebounded opponents.
 
Wisconsin Lutheran (22-4, 18-2) rode into the tournament in a six-game winning streak and has not slowed down, winning both NACC Tournament games by over 20 points. The Warriors toppled eighth-seeded Aurora University 71-48 in Saturday's quarterfinal game before defeating fifth-seeded Concordia University Chicago 83-61 in Wednesday's semifinal.
 
Over the last two games, Third Team All-American Kristen Schultz performed at her best. The senior, who averages 22 points, 15.5 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks per game, scored 37 points in the opening round win over Aurora. In the two wins, she totaled 56 points, 35 rebounds, and eight blocks. Senior Maggie Gartner has also played well for the Warriors, recording 16 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Concordia University Chicago.
 
Since the NACC was formed in 2006, Wisconsin Lutheran has been the conference's elite program for women's basketball. The Warriors have captured four straight NACC Regular Season and Tournament Championships, plus an additional Tournament Championship in 2008. Over the league's nine-year history, WLC holds a 141-25 (.849) record in NACC play and a 20-3 (.870) all-time record in NACC Tournament play.
 
The Eagles and Warriors met in the NACC Tournament for three consecutive seasons from 2010-11 through 2012-13, with the Warriors prevailing all three times en route to a NACC Tournament Championship. Benedictine has not defeated the Warriors since the 2009-10 season, as WLC has won the last 11 meetings between the two schools.
 
This season, the Warriors won both in Milwaukee and in Lisle. On January 6, the Warriors topped BenU 77-60 at WLC while shooting 57.1% from the floor, 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, and tallying 25 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, and six blocks from Schultz. Benedictine was led by Briana Hamilton in the contest, as the junior recorded team-highs with 13 points and eight rebounds.
 
On January 24, Wisconsin Lutheran came into Lisle on Hall of Fame Day and downed Benedictine 59-52. Benedictine shot just 31.8% from the floor and 23.5% from three-point range. Novak tallied 16 points in the contest, while Nicole Botich recorded a double-double (11 points, 12 rebounds).
 
Tim Calderwood and Luke Stanczyk will travel to Milwaukee for Saturday night's contest and provide an audio broadcast of the game at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/benu/.