Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats to Face No. 2 Purdue
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
February 20, 1999
Northwestern Wildcats (11-14, 5-10)
vs.
No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers (24-1, 15-0)
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern will lay it all out on the line this afternoon when it plays No. 2-ranked Purdue in the regular season finale for both teams. It is an emotionally-charged game for both squads as the Wildcat fans bid farewell to their three seniors, Megan Chawansky, Shannon McGarrigle and Anne Giblin. It is also the final home appearance for NU's head coach of the past 15 seasons, Don Perrelli, who after 23 years of collegiate coaching, will retire after the season.
For Purdue, a 22-game win streak and a perfect Big Ten record is at stake. The Boilers (24-1, 15-0 Big Ten) come to Evanston after a 63-61 thriller at Minnesota Friday night. They clinched the Big Ten regular season championship last weekend with a 76-74 overtime win over Penn State.
The Purdue Series
Purdue owns a 22-17 record all-time against the Wildcats, and has won the last three meetings, including a 76-46 decision at Mackey Arena on Jan. 12. Last season, the Boilers defeated NU 81-64 in Evanston and 79-67 on their own turf. The last time the Wildcats posted a victory in the series was Feb. 21, 1997, when they defeated Purdue 64-55 in Evanston.
The Big Ten Tournament Schedule (All Times EST)
Fri., Feb. 26 - First Round Sat.,
Feb. 27 - Second Round
Game 1: #8 vs. #9 (4 p.m.)
Game 4: #4 vs. #5 (11 a.m.)
Game 2: #7 vs. #10 (6 p.m.)
Game 5: #1 vs. 8/9 winner (1 p.m.)
Game 3: #6 vs. #11 (8 p.m.)
Game 6: #2 vs. 7/10 winner (4:30)
Game 7: #3 vs. 6/11 winner
(25 minutes following Game 6.)
Sun., Feb. 28 - Semifinals
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner (1 p.m.)
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner (25 minutes following)
Mon., Mar. 1 - Championship
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner (7:30 p.m.)
Today's Tips
NU's Last Game: Northwestern 79, Indiana 68
NU only led 41-39 at halftime, but senior guard Shannon McGarrigle capped off a 20-10 Wildcat run with her second three pointer at the 8:51 mark of the second half which gave NU a 66-56 advantage. Senior guard Megan Chawansky led all scorers with 18 points, including 12 in the first half. She also collected 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season and 11th of her career.
Sophomore center Tami Sears was two assists shy of recording just the second triple-double in school history. She had 15 points, 14 rebounds and a career-high eight assists. It marked her team-leading sixth double-double of the season. Also contributing for the Wildcats was sophomore Dana Leonard with 17 points and seven assists. Junior forward Leslie Schock reached double figures for the 20th time this season with 16 points.
The First Purdue Meeting
(Jan. 12, 1999)
Stephanie White-McCarty scored 20 points in Purdue's 76-46 win over Northwestern.
The Wildcats were led by Megan Chawansky with 14 points. Purdue scored the final nine points in the first half to take a 31-25 lead. The Boilermakers then outscored Northwestern 22-3 to start the second half.
After Northwestern's Tami Sears converted a three-point play to pull the Wildcats within 33-28, Purdue scored 20 straight points. White-McCarty scored seven and Camille Cooper added six during the run. After hitting 32 percent from the field in the first half, the Boilermakers regrouped to hit 15-of-24 shots in the second half. Meanwhile, Purdue's fullcourt pressure forced Northwestern into 17 second-half turnovers and 29 percent shooting.
Northwestern led 11-2 with 13:14 remaining in the first half after Dana Leonard's 3-pointer.
All-Around Game
Senior guard Megan Chawansky is one of the most complete players to ever wear a Northwestern uniform. She is the first player in NU history to record 1,700 points, 600 rebounds, 500 assists and 150 steals in her career. (see career charts on page four.)
Moving Up the Career Scoring Chart
Senior guard Megan Chawansky climbed to third on Northwestern's all-time scoring chart with 27 points at Iowa last Sunday. She surpassed Maureen Holohan (1991-95), who totaled 1,699 points during her tenure at NU. Chawansky owns 1,727 career points and sits third behind Anucha Browne (2,307 points) and Michele Ratay (1,798 points).
Dishing Out Assists
Senior guard Megan Chawansky moved into fourth place on Northwestern's all-time assist chart after she dished out seven assists at Wisconsin. Chawansky surpassed Laura Wiesen (1983-86) and now has 517 career assists to her credit. Chawansky became the fourth Wildcat to join the 500-assist club at NU, and only the 11th player in Big Ten history to do so after dishing out six assists at Illinois.
Gettin' to the Line
At Stanford, Chawansky made eight free throws to move into second place on the school's all-time free throws attempted chart. She has now gone to the line 648 times during her career. This season, Chawansky has gone to the line more than any other Wildcat (169 times). She averages 6.8 trips to the line a game. (See career charts on page four.)
Double-Doubles
Sophomore center Tami Sears owns a team-high six double-doubles this season, tied for ninth among other Big Ten players. Her double-doubles have come against: DePaul (14 points, 11 rebounds), Stanford (11 points, 12 rebounds), California (14 points, 14 rebounds), Illinois (13 points, 14 rebounds), Minnesota (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Indiana (15 points, 14 rebounds).
Junior forward Leslie Schock registered her fourth double-double of the season and seventh of her career with 17 points and 11 rebounds at Iowa. Her other three double-doubles this season have come against Ohio State (16 points, 10 rebounds), Indiana (25 points, 11 rebounds) and at Illinois (22 points, 11 rebounds).
Senior guard Megan Chawansky, who has 11 double-doubles for her career, registered her first this season at Wisconsin with 17 points and 13 rebounds. She had another one five days later at Penn State with 24 points and 10 rebounds. On Friday night, she tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Indiana.
Injury Report
* Junior forward Leah Berki suffered a broken nose at Minnesota on Jan. 31. She will play with a protective mask.
* Preseason All-American Kristina Divjak will miss the remainder of the 1998-99 season. She underwent surgery Dec. 28 for a condition in her left knee known as lateral patella compression syndrome. According to team athletic trainer Jackie Wise, the surgery was a success and Divjak is progressing quite well in her rehabilitation process. Divjak is eligible to return as a fifth-year senior. The 6-0 senior forward and co-captain played in four games this season, averaging 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game before being sidelined. She tallied a season-high 27 points in a loss to then No. 22-ranked UC-Santa Barbara on Nov. 18.
Schock's Scoring
Junior forward Leslie Schock has reached double figures in scoring in 20 of 24 games this season. Schock reached double figures 10-straight times earlier this season, the longest streak for any Wildcat. Earlier this year, she recorded three-straight 20-plus scoring efforts. She scored 22 points and had nine rebounds at Cal. She tallied 25 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds in the win over Indiana. She then scored a career-high 26 points, while shooting 11-of-13 from the field in the win over UW-Milwaukee.
Schock is NU's second-leading scorer and rebounder this year with 14.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg. She is second on the team with a .517 field goal percentage, having hit 152-of-294 shots from the floor.
Attendance Mark Broken
Northwestern set a Welsh-Ryan Arena women's basketball attendance record against Ohio State as 3,779 fans turned out for "Pack the Place 1999." The Wildcats broke the old single- game attendance record of 3,665 set on Jan. 16, 1998 for the NU-Wisconsin game. Head Coach Don Perrelli
Don Perrelli (Southern Connecticut State, 1961) is in his 15th season at the helm of the Wildcats and 23rd as a collegiate head coach. He notched his 250th career victory at Northwestern. His overall record now stands at 425-250, while he owns a 250-179 record with the Wildcats. NU has advanced to postseason play six times during Perrelli's tenure. On Jan. 20, Perrelli announced his retirement effective at the end of this season. He has been honored by four schools for his contributions to women's basketball. On Jan. 27, before the start of the Penn State game, Coach Rene Portland presented Perrelli with the Nittany Lion Award and a sweatshirt. Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz presented Perrelli with a Big Bertha golf club to enjoy during his retirement. He has also been presented with gifts at Michigan State and at Iowa.
NU Career Record Book Update
Senior co-captain Megan Chawansky ranks among the all-time
Northwestern leaders in nine categories. She moved into
seventh on the school's all-time rebounding chart Friday night.
Career Points Career Assists 1. Anucha Browne (2,307) 2. Moira Kennelly (546) 2. Michele Ratay (1,798) 3. Amber DeWall (541) 3. M. Chawansky (1,727) 4. M. Chawansky (517)Career Three-Pointers Made Career Three-Point Att. 1. Michele Ratay (244)* 1. Michele Ratay (629)* 2. Kristina Divjak (218) 2. Kristina Divjak (533) 3. Moira Kennelly (173) 3. Moira Kennelly (454) 4. M. Chawansky (132) 4. M. Chawansky (369)
Career Free Throws Made Career Free Throw Att. 1. Anucha Browne (469) 1. Anucha Browne (719) 2. Michele Ratay (442) 2. M. Chawansky (648) 3. M. Chawansky (438) Katrina Hannaford (387) 4. Nancy Kennelly (385) Career Rebounding 9. Maureen Holohan (272) 5. Maureen Holohan (683) 10. Kristina Divjak (264) 6. Michele Savage (681) 7. M. Chawansky (659) Career Steals 6. Michele Savage (200) 7. Anucha Browne (196) Games Played 8. Megan Chawansky (184) 1. Laura Augustyniak (122) 2. Kelly Cole (121) P. Vanderbush-Murphy (121) 4. Michele Ratay (120) 5. Amy Prichard (118) * Big Ten record Megan Chawansky (118)
NU Signs Four to Letters of Intent
NU snagged one of the top 20 classes in the country, according to Joe Smith of the Women's Basketball News Service. Head coach Don Perrelli announced the signing of four high school seniors to play at Northwestern beginning in the fall of 1999:
Emily Butler (point guard, 5-8, Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove)
Nicole Daniels (guard/forward, 5-10, White Plains, N.Y./White Plains)
Leslie Dolland (center, 6-2, Bloomington, Minn./The Blake School)
Natalie Will (forward, 5-9, Nappanee, Ind./Northwood)
"It's a very, very good recruiting class for us," Perrelli enthused. "We hit all our areas of need. Butler is a very good point guard, Will is an excellent outside shooter, Daniels is a "3" player with athletic ability and Dolland is a strong "5" player in the post."
Wildcats in the Big Ten (as of Feb. 15)
Scoring (All Games)
Megan Chawansky - 4th (17.5 ppg)
Rebounds (All Games)
Tami Sears - 4th (8.1 rpg)
Steals (All Games)
Megan Chawansky - tied for 7th (1.96 spg)
Field Goal Percentage (All Games)
Leslie Schock - 7th (.520)
Assists (All Games)
Megan Chawansky - 3rd (5.42 apg)
3-pt. Field Goal Percentage (All Games)
Dana Leonard - 7th (.351, 53-for-151)
Scoring (Conference games only)
Megan Chawansky - 5th (17.6 ppg)
Rebounding (Conference games only)
Tami Sears - tied for 8th (7.6 rpg)
Steals (Conference games only)
Megan Chawansky - tied for 7th (1.79 spg)
Assists (Conference games only)
Megan Chawansky - 3rd (5.50 apg)
Free Throw Percentage (Conference games only)
Megan Chawansky - 9th (.768, 63-for-82)
