Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Basketball Gets Set to Battle No. 3 Purdue
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 11, 1999
Northwestern Wildcats (7-6, 1-2)
at
No. 3 Purdue Boilermakers (11-1, 3-0)
The Wildcats face their toughest opponent of the season when they take on third-ranked Purdue Tuesday night in West Lafayette.
Northwestern (7-6, 1-2 Big Ten) is looking to break out of a two-game minislump. On Sunday, the 'Cats dropped a 74-55 decision to Illinois. Earlier in the week, they fell to Michigan State at home, 73-64.
The Boilermakers have rattled off nine straight wins after suffering their only loss of the season, a 73-72 setback at Stanford, on Nov. 22. Purdue's most recent win was a 71-69 overtime victory at Iowa on Sunday. The Boilermakers sit atop the Big Ten standings with a 3-0 record. They are 11-1 overall.
The Purdue Series
Purdue owns a 21-17 record all-time against the Wildcats, including
two victories last season. The Boilermakers defeated NU 81-64 in Evanston
on Jan. 13 and 79-67 on their own turf on Feb. 20. The last time the
Wildcats posted a victory in the series was Feb. 21, 1997, when they
defeated Purdue
64-55 in Evanston.
Today's Tips
NU's Last Game: Illinois 74, Northwestern 55
Up only three points (43-40) with 10:02 remaining in the contest,
the Illinois Fighting Illini went on a 17-3 run over the next five minutes,
propelling the visitors to a 74-55 victory over NU on Sunday afternoon.
Guard Melissa Parker scored 11 of her game-high 19 points for Illinois during the spurt. Center Alicia Sheeler also played a big part in the second half, scoring 12 of her 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
For the game, the Wildcats had a tough time connecting on their shots, ending up 20-of-58 from the field. It was the fewest amount of field goals made all season. The 'Cats were also plagued by 21 turnovers.
Senior guard Megan Chawansky led NU in scoring with 15 points, while sophomore center Tami Sears recorded 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
Injury Report
Senior forward Anne Giblin is back after missing six weeks with a
stress fracture in her right foot. She has not played since Dec. 1. Last
year, Giblin missed eight weeks with a similar injury.
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.
Northwestern's next opponent, Purdue, was ranked third in the Jan. 7 AP Poll. This season the Boilermakers have knocked off four ranked opponents: No. 1 Tennessee (78-68), No. 4 Louisiana Tech (71-65), No. 20 Florida (84-76) and No. 17 Penn State (53-48).
Schock's Streak Stopped
Junior forward Leslie Schock scored in double figures in
10-straight games before being held to only nine points by Illinois on
Sunday. For the season, Schock has reached double figures in 11 of 13
games. Prior to NU's last two 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 15.7 ppg and 6.8 rpg. She leads the team with a .563 field goal percentage, having hit 85-of-151 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 577
times during her career. This season, Chawansky has gone to the line more
than any other Wildcat (98 times). She averages 7.5 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.
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 (456) 8. M. Chawansky (1,510)Three-Point ThreatCareer 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. Maureen Holohan (115) 4. M. Chawansky (330) 5. M. Chawansky (114)
Career Free Throws Made Career Free Throw Att. 2. Michele Ratay (442) 1. Anucha Browne (719) 3. Katrina Hannaford (387) 2. M. Chawansky (577) 4. Nancy Kennelly (385) 5. M. Chawansky (384) Career Rebounding 9. Maureen Holohan (272) 8. Katrina Hannaford (652) 10.Kristina Divjak (264) 9. Nancy Kennelly (629) 10.M. Chawansky (591)
* Big Ten record
Sophomore point guard Dana Leonard was tied for 14th in the nation in three point field goals made per game (2.7) through games of Jan. 4. Out of NU's 58 three pointers made this season, Leonard has made a team-high 34.
In the Big Ten (stats as of Jan. 6)
Megan Chawansky is ranked third among the Big Ten scoring leaders
with 17.3 points per game. She is second in assists (5.58 apg) behind Penn
State's Helen Darling
(6.58 apg), and ranks fourth in steals (2.42 spg).
Leslie Schock is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.3 ppg) and second in field goal percentage (81-for-140, .579). In the rebounding category, Tami Sears ranks fifth with 8.3 boards per game. Dana Leonard is third in three-point field goal percentage, having canned 32-of-83 treys for a .386 mark.
Putting Points on the Board
Northwestern was fourth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (75.3
ppg) as of the Jan. 6 statistical report. Teams in front were Michigan
(79.6 ppg), Purdue (78.7 ppg) and Illinois (77.7 ppg).
Hitting the Boards
The Wildcats are ranked fourth in rebounding behind Penn State,
Michigan and Illinois according to the Jan. 6 Big Ten statistical report.
NU is averaging 42.3 caroms per outing and holding its opponents to 37.3
rebounds per game. Its +5.0 rebounding margin is fourth-best in the
conference. On the offensive glass, Northwestern ranks fifth with 15.83
offensive boards per game. It is ranked third in defensive rebounds (26.42
per game) behind Indiana (27.71) and Michigan (27.64).
Knocking Down Treys
The Wildcats are third in the Big Ten in three-point field goals
made with an average of 4.42 threes a game. The top two teams are Purdue
(6.18 threes per game) and Indiana (6.12 threes per game). Indiana has hit
a conference-best 104 threes after 17 games. The Wildcats have made 58
three pointers.
Sophomore Starters
Sophomore standouts Tami Sears and Dana Leonard have provided a big
boost for the Wildcat lineup in the first 13 games this season. Sears, a
center, leads the team in rebounding (8.7 boards per game), is third in
steals (1.0 spg), tied for third in assists (1.77 apg) and fourth in
scoring (10.8 ppg).
Leonard gives Northwestern a point guard who can hit the three-point shot. She is the team's third-leading scorer with 13.8 ppg. She has made a team-high 34 three-pointers, while shooting 36.6 percent (34-for-93) from beyond the arc. Leonard is also second in assists (3.54 apg) and second in steals (1.01 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!
This year, the NU athletic department is holding another "Pack the Place" promotion on Jan. 17 for the 4 p.m. game against Ohio State. All tickets will be sold for $1. The goal is to set a new women's basketball Welsh-Ryan Arena attendance record.
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
420-243, while he owns a 245-172 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.
