MANKATO, Minn. - The Bethany Lutheran women's basketball team is set for an important weekend as they'll take on Northwestern and North Central in the Twin Cities this. The Vikings (5-16, 5-5 UMAC) will face off with Northwestern (13-8, 6-4 UMAC) on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. before taking on North Central (10-10, 6-4 UMAC) on Saturday at 3 p.m. BLC currently sits tied for fifth in the conference standings while UNW and NCU are tied for third. 

Scouting the Eagles
Northwestern comes into the contest after splitting a pair of games this past weekend, defeating Northland on Friday night before falling to UW-Superior on Saturday. Through 21 games they're led by Lexi Hagen who averages 13.6 points and 7.7 rebounds per game with her points being the third most in the UMAC. A large host of Eagles complement the offense, with Jasmine Sondrol and Grace Landvik being the next two highest scorers at 8.1 and 7.6 points per game, respectively. As a team the Eagles have the best scoring margin in the conference, averaging 68.7 points and allowing 57.3 for a margin of 11.4. They are also the most efficient team offensively, posting the highest FG percentage (42.2) and 3PT percentage (34.3).

Scouting the Rams
North Central enters the matchup coming off the same results as Northwestern, with a win over Northland last weekend and a loss to UW-Superior. After Bethany won the first 31 matchups of the all-time series with the Rams, NCU has held the advantage of late by claiming the past three contests. Through 20 games this season North Central is led by the duo of Caitlyn Ryan and Kaitlyn VanderPloeg who average 13.5 and 12.2 points per game, respectively. VanderPloeg played especially well the last time the two teams met, as she posted 17 points and 13 rebounds on 8-of-14 shooting in the game. With their post oriented lineup, the Rams currently lead the UMAC in rebounds at 40.0 per game and are one of three conference teams with a positive rebounding margin.