Basketball Recap: Western Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Rhiana Bowman and Ellyse Walden

It was a proper cat-fight when Western duked it out withNorthwestern on Wednesday. The Western Panthers took a 48-42 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Northwestern Tigers. The Panthers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Tigers apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

Western's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Ellyse Walden, who dropped a double-double on 11 points and ten rebounds, and Rhiana Bowman, who posted ten points and six blocks. The dominant performance also gave Walden a new career-high in steals (three). Kayleigh Auth also deserves some recognition as she posted her first block of the season.

It was another big night for Anna Bishir, who went 11 of 20 en route to 27 points in addition to seven steals and five boards for Northwestern. Bishir has been hot, having posted two or more steals the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Berkley Wray, who earned eight points along with nine rebounds and four blocks.

This is the second loss in a row for Western and nudges their season record down to 7-13. As for Northwestern, the win snapped their losing streak at three games and leaves them with a 7-11 record.

Western wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next game, a 76-18 loss against Rensselaer Central on the 24th. Northwestern has also already played their next match, a 63-50 defeat against Wabash on the 25th.