Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Basketball Gears Up for Minnesota
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 14, 1999
Northwestern Wildcats (7-7, 1-3)
vs.
Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-9, 1-4)
January 15, 1999 (7 p.m.)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
WNUR (89.3 FM)
The Wildcats go after their first Big Ten victory at home this Friday against Minnesota. Northwestern (7-7, 1-3 Big Ten) is looking to break out of a three-game minislump. Its most recent outing was a 76-46 loss at No. 3 Purdue Tuesday evening.
The Golden Gophers (6-9, 1-4 Big Ten) are coming off their biggest win of the season, a 54-47 triumph over Michigan in Ann Arbor last Sunday.
The Minnesota Series
Northwestern owns a 27-9 record against the Golden Gophers. NU
captured the only meeting between the two teams last year, an 84-65 win in
Evanston. The last time Minnesota posted a victory in the series was Dec.
28, 1994, when they defeated the Wildcats, 74-54 in Minneapolis. Since
then the 'Cats have won the last five meetings.
Today's Tips
NU's Last Game:
Purdue 76, Northwestern 46
Third-ranked Purdue tied a team record with its 10th straight
victory as Stephanie White-McCarty scored 20 points Tuesday night.
The Boilermakers (12-1, 4-0 Big Ten) scored the final nine points in the first half to take a 31-25 lead. They then outscored Northwestern 22-3 to start the second half. After NU'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 press forced Northwestern into 17 second-half turnovers and 29 percent shooting.
The 'Cats led 11-2 with 13:14 remaining in the first half after Dana Leonard's 3-pointer. Megan Chawansky led Northwestern with 14 points.
Injury Report
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 the
early stages of a lengthy rehabilitation process. She should be 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.
New Face
The Wildcats had a new player join the team on Jan. 4. Freshman
Ashley Messenger, a 5-10 guard, hails from Scottsdale, Ariz., and is a
product of Sagurao High School. She averaged 22.4 ppg as a senior and was
twice named all-state in addition to being named Scottsdale's Player of the
Year last season.
In related news, freshman forward Bille Russell is not eligible to play in the remainder of Northwestern's games this season due to academic reasons.
AP Top 25
The Wildcats disappeared from the Associated Press Top 25
"receiving votes" category following their California trip. NU received
two votes in the Dec. 2 AP Poll. On Dec. 9, the 'Cats received seven votes.
Schock Starts New Streak
Junior forward Leslie Schock reached double figures in scoring (13
points) against Purdue, after being held to only nine points by Illinois
last Sunday. Prior to the Illinois outing, Schock reached double figures
10-straight times, the longest streak of the season for any Wildcat. For
the season, Schock has reached double figures in 12 of 14 games. Prior to
NU's last three outings, she recorded three-straight 20+ scoring efforts.
Schock 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 15.5 ppg and 6.6 rpg. She leads the team with a .566 field goal percentage, having hit 90-of-159 shots from the floor.
Gettin' to the Line
At Stanford, Chawansky went 8-for-16 from the free-throw line,
moving into second place on the school's all-time free throws attempted
chart. She surpassed Michele Ratay ('97) and has gone to the line 578
times during her career. This season, Chawansky has gone to the line more
than any other Wildcat (99 times). She averages just over seven trips to
the line a game.
NU Career Record Book Update
Senior co-captain Megan Chawansky ranks among the all-time
Northwestern leaders in several categories. She recently moved into 10th
on the school's all-time rebounding chart when she grabbed nine caroms
against UW-Milwaukee. With 167 career steals, she is seven thefts shy of
breaking into the top 10 in that category as well.
Career Points Career Assists 5. Julie Calahan (1,648) 3. Amber DeWall (541) 6. Kristina Divjak (1,624) 4. Laura Wiesen (474) 7. Amy Prichard (1,533) 5. M. Chawansky (461) 8. M. Chawansky (1,524)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 (120) 4. M. Chawansky (336)
Career Free Throws Made Career Free Throw Att. 2. Michele Ratay (442) 1. Anucha Browne (719) 3. Katrina Hannaford (387) 2. M. Chawansky (578) 4. Nancy Kennelly (385) M. Chawansky (385) Career Rebounding 9. Maureen Holohan (272) 8. Katrina Hannaford (652) 10. Kristina Divjak (264) 9. Nancy Kennelly (629) 10. M. Chawansky (598)
Three-Point Threat
Sophomore point guard Dana Leonard was tied for 23rd in the nation
in three point field goals made per game (2.6) through games of Jan. 11.
Out of NU's 66 three pointers made this season, Leonard has made a
team-high 36 (.545).
In the Big Ten (stats as of Jan. 13)
Megan Chawansky is ranked fifth among the Big Ten scoring leaders
with 16.9 points per game. She is second in assists (5.64 apg) behind Penn
State's Helen Darling (6.86 apg), and ranks fourth in steals (2.29 spg).
Leslie Schock is ninth in the conference in scoring (15.5 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (90-for-159, .566).
In the rebounding category, Tami Sears ranks third with 8.7 boards per game. Dana Leonard is fifth in three-point field goal percentage, having canned 36-of-99 treys for a .364 mark.
Knocking Down Threes
The Wildcats are third in the Big Ten in three-point field goals
made with an average of 4.71 threes a game. The top two teams are Indiana
and Purdue (each with 6.00 threes per game). Indiana has hit a
conference-best 114 threes through 19 games. The Wildcats have made 66
three pointers.
Sophomore Starters
Sophomore standouts Tami Sears and Dana Leonard have come into
their own this season. Sears is actually in her rookie season after
missing all of last year with a stress fracture in her foot. Playing at
center, Sears leads the team in rebounding (8.7 boards per game), is second
in steals (1.1 spg), fourth in assists (1.64 apg) and fourth in scoring
(10.4 ppg).
Leonard gives Northwestern a point guard who can hit the three-point shot. She is the team's third-leading scorer with 13.2 ppg. She has made a team-high 36 three-pointers, while shooting 36.4 percent (36-for-99) from beyond the arc. Leonard is also second in assists (3.43 apg) and third in steals (1.00 spg).
Attendance Marks Broken
Last season, Northwestern set both single-game and single-season
attendance records. The 'Cats drew 17,711 fans to Welsh-Ryan Arena,
breaking the old mark of 17,672 set in the 1996-97 season. The Wildcats
set a school single-game attendance record on Jan. 16, 1998, when 3,665
fans attended the NU-Wisconsin game. The old single-game mark of 3,416 was
set in 1995 against Iowa.
Pack the Place!
Northwestern has sold over 1,600 advance tickets for its women's
basketball "Pack the Place 1999", but seats are still available for this
Sunday's 4 p.m. contest against Ohio State. Last year, 3,665 fans attended
the inaugural "Pack the Place." This year, NU's goal is to break that
attendance mark. All tickets are just $1.
Tickets can be purchased through the Northwestern ticket office by calling (847) 491-CATS. They can also be purchased at any of the two Wildcat basketball games held at Welsh-Ryan Arena prior to the event (Women's game: Jan. 15 vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m./Men's game: Jan. 16 vs. Wisconsin, 11 a.m.).
Sunday's contest between Northwestern and Ohio State is also being televised by Fox Sports Chicago. "Pack the Place" is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune, WGN Radio and True Value.
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
is approaching his 250th career victory at Northwestern. His overall
record now stands at
420-244, while he owns a 245-173 record with the Wildcats. NU has advanced
to postseason play six times during Perrelli's tenure.
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."
Northwestern on Television
The Wildcats already have had one televised game. Fox Sports Bay
Area broadcast NU's game vs. California on
Dec. 17.
Two more Northwestern games will air this month when the Fox Sports
Chicago Game of the Week package begins.
Jan. 17 - NU vs. Ohio State, 4 p.m. CST - FSC network
Jan. 31 - NU at Minnesota, 2 p.m. CST - FSC network
Dave Eanet and Amy Prichard are joined by Ann Werner for this season's Big Ten women's basketball coverage.
