Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Princeton
Women's Basketball Defeats Princeton in Roger L. White, 55-38
12/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 3, 1999
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern University women?s basketball team shook off a sluggish first half to defeat Princeton, 55-38, in the first round of the 16th annual Roger L. White Invitational Friday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Wildcats will now meet Miami (Ohio) in Saturday?s championship game at 7 p.m. The RedHawks defeated the University of New Hampshire, 67-57, in Friday?s first game. UNH and Princeton will play the consolation at 5 p.m.
The Tigers (2-5) scored 13 of the first 15 points of the game and, relying almost exclusively on the 3-point shot, took a 23-22 lead into the half. Princeton hit seven treys and two free throws to get their points, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc.
NU, meanwhile, was just 7-of-21 from the field in the first half, but took its first lead of the game one minute into the second stanza when Dana Leonard buried a 3-pointer. That kicked off a 10-2 run that gave the Wildcats a seven-point lead (32-25). Princeton drew as close as five, at 35-30, but the ?Cats put the game away with a 15-0 run spanning more than nine minutes.
?We stayed with our game plan, and it paid off in the second half,? said NU coach June Olkowski. ?We made our shots, and I think Princeton got a little tired in the legs with all their 3-point attempts.?
Leonard hit five treys to end with a game-high 19 points, while Emily Butler had 10 points and six boards. For Princeton, Kate Thirolf and Hillary Reser each had nine points while Jessica Munson added eight. The Tigers shot just 5-for-30 in the second half, including 1-for-15 from 3-point land.
In Friday?s first game, Miami (Ohio) used an 18-2 run midway through the second half to overcome a 10-point deficit and defeat the University of New Hampshire, 67-57. UNH used a pair of nice runs in the first half to take a 30-23 lead into the break, and extended it to 45-35 with just under 12 minutes to play. The RedHawks made their run, though, and UNH never recovered.
Heather Cusick led three Miami players in double figures, scoring 16 points, while Jenny Martin added 15 and Jamie Stewart had 10. Aubree Hamilton, meanwhile, scored eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds. For UNH, Heidi Plencner had 22 points including five 3-pointers while Orsi Farkas contributed 13 points and 11 boards.
