by Scott DCamp
Sports Editor
Northland freshman Kenzie Dahl scored 29 points and added nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Northland women’s basketball team to a 64-52 upset win over third-seeded Community College of Rhode Island Thursday night in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship. The tournament is being held at the Brownwood Coliseum in Brownwood, Texas.
The Pioneers and Knights traded scores early with neither team leading by more than two points until an Ella Johnson jumper gave the Knights an 11-7 advantage with 4:47 remaining in the first quarter.
The Knights’ lead would eventually grow to six points, before the Pioneers rallied with a 7-0 run to go in front 14-13 with 2:28 remaining in the quarter. The Pioneers would outscore the Knights 7-5 over the remaining two and half minutes of the quarter to take a 21-18 lead.
The Pioneers outscored the Knights 9-2 over the first four and a half mintues of the second quarter to take a 30-20 lead. They maintained an eight- to 10-point advantage for the remainder of the quarter and took a 35-26 lead into the half.
The Pioneers led by as few as six and as many as 13 in the third quarter and they took a 50-38 lead into the final quarter of play.
The fourth quarter followed a similar pattern, with the Pioneers leading by as many as 13, while never letting the Knights get any closer than nine points.
Joining Dahl with standout performances for the Pioneers were Jade Reese with 17 points and eight rebounds, and Josie Peterson with 10 points and six rebounds.
The win over Rhode Island gives the Pioneers another crack at second-seeded Anoka-Ramsey. The Golden Rams defeated the Pioneers twice so far during the 2025-26 season, winning 80-70 on Nov. 21 and 77-57 in the Region 13B championship on March 1. It should be noted that both games were played on Anoka-Ramsey’s home court.
Pioneers advance to NJCAA quarterfinals
Northland Community & Technical College defeated Dallas College Richland 66-58 in the opening round of the 2026 NJCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship tournament Wednesday night at the Brownwood Coliseum in Brownwood, Texas.
The Pioneers never trailed and led by as many as five points during the opening quarter, including an 11-6 advantage with 3:57 remaining. The T-Ducks used a 7-2 run to tie the game at 13-13 with 1:57 remaining and the score would remain 13-13 through the end of the period.
The Pioneers opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run to go in front 20-13 and they continued to add to their lead, with a 30-20 lead at the half.
The Pioneers led by as many as 16 in the third quarter and they took a 45-33 advantage into the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers briefly pushed the lead back to 16 with a 49-33 advantage a minute into the final period, but the T-Ducks put together a 10-2 run to make the score 51-43 with seven minutes remaining.
The Pioneers got back on track and maintained a lead that fluctuated between eight and 12 points until a Josie Peterson layup with just over three minutes remaining gave the Pioneers a 62-48 lead and effectively put the game out of reach.
Four Northland starters finished the game in double figures, led by Kinzie Dahl, with a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double. Peterson added 16 points, with Faith Lilly and Jade Reese scoring 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Aspen Hicks recorded a double-double for the T-Ducks, scoring 12 points and collecting 10 rebounds. She was one of three T-Ducks to reach double figures, with Sanaa Darensberg scoring 12 points and Mahagony Jackson-Walker scoring 10 points.