Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts Illinois
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
January 8, 1999
Northwestern Wildcats (7-5, 1-1) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (9-5, 3-1)
January 10, 1999 (2 p.m.)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
WNUR (89.3 FM)
Northwestern looks for its first home Big Ten win on Sunday afternoon when it hosts the University of Illinois at 2 p.m. It will mark the first of two meetings between the two teams this season.
The Wildcats are coming off a 73-64 loss to Michigan State on Tuesday night. The setback dropped NU's record to 1-1 in the conference, 7-5 overall.
Prior to Illinois' Friday night game at Ohio State, the Fighting Illini were 9-5 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten. On Tuesday night, they defeated Michigan in Champaign, 75-65 in overtime.
The Illinois Series
Northwestern owns a 30-9 record all-time against the Fighting
Illini, but Illinois has won the last two meetings (1997, 1998). The
series first began during the 1975-76 season. Illinois captured the only
meeting between the two teams last year, a 70-60 victory in Champaign. The
last time the Wildcats posted a victory in the series was Feb. 23, 1996,
when they defeated Illinois, 75-68 in Evanston.
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 Last Time Out
Senior guard Megan Chawansky led a Northwestern rally late in the
second half that brought the Wildcats from 13 points down (65-52 at the
6:29 mark) to only one point down (65-64 with 2:04 remaining), but Michigan
State held on for a 73-64 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Chawansky scored
eight points during NU's run and finished with game-highs of 24 points,
seven assists and five steals.
The Spartans had their way inside early. Junior forward Kristen Rasmussen had 12 points and sophomore center Erin Skelly scored a season-high 10 points in the first half to put MSU on top at halftime, 36-29.
Junior guard Maxann Reese gained the hot hand in the second half. After being held to only two points during the first 20 minutes, Reese started hitting from the outside and tallied nine of the Spartan's first 14 points in the second half.
MSU took its largest lead of the game, 57-44 at the 10:16 mark, and then went up again by 13 points with 6:29 left to play. That's when Northwestern began its rally.
Down by a point with 1:38 remaining in the game, junior forward Leslie Schock missed a free throw that would have tied the game. The Wildcats were forced to foul and the Spartans made six-of-seven free throws down the stretch. Reese led Michigan State with 20 points while Rasmussen totaled 16 markers.
The Wildcats got 14 points and eight rebounds from Schock. Sophomore point guard Dana Leonard finished with 12 points.
Injury Report
Senior forward Anne Giblin will be able to play Sunday against
Illinois. She missed six weeks with a stress fracture in her right foot
and has not played since the Dec. 1 game versus Loyola-Chicago. 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 Billee 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 the California trip. NU received two
votes in the Dec. 2 AP Poll. On Dec. 9, the 'Cats received seven votes.
Sunday's opponent, Illinois, received 21 votes on the Jan. 4 AP poll.
Schock Therapy
Junior forward Leslie Schock has scored in double figures in 11 of
12 games this season, including 10-straight contests. 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.
In Northwestern's last four games, Schock has averaged 21.75 points and 8.5 rebounds. She's hit 37-of-63 shots for a .587 field goal percentage and has gone 2-for-3 from three-point range.
Schock is NU's second-leading scorer and rebounder this year with 16.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg. She was named Northwestern's Wildcat Athlete of the Week for her performances against Indiana and UW-Milwaukee.
Striving for 1,500 Points
Senior guard Megan Chawansky is five points away from becoming the
eighth player in school history to reach 1,500 career points. She now owns
1,495 points. Chawansky surpassed the 1,400-point plateau just seven games
ago (vs. Ohio on Dec. 4).
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 571
times during her career. This season, Chawansky has gone to the line more
than any other Wildcat (92 times). She averages almost eight 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 (449) 8. M. Chawansky (1,495)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) 4. Maureen Holohan (326) 4. Maureen Holohan (115) 5. M. Chawansky (325) 5. M. Chawansky (113)
Career Free Throws Made Career Free Throw Att. 5. Michele Savage (382) 1. Anucha Browne (719) 6. M. Chawansky (380) 2. M. Chawansky (571) 9. Maureen Holohan (272) 10. Kristina Divjak (264)
Career Rebounding 8. Katrina Hannaford (652) * Big Ten record 9. Nancy Kennelly (629) 10. Megan Chawansky (585)
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 53 three pointers made this season, Leonard has made a team-high 32.
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 is 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 53
three pointers.
Sophomore Starters
Sophomore standouts Tami Sears and Dana Leonard have provided a big
boost for the Wildcat lineup in the first 12 games this season. Sears, a
center, leads the team in rebounding (8.3 boards per game), is third in
steals (1.0 spg), tied for third in assists (1.83 apg) and fourth in
scoring (10.7 ppg).
Leonard gives Northwestern a point guard who can hit the three-point shot. She is the team's third-leading scorer with 14.4 ppg. She has made a team-high 32 three-pointers, while shooting 38.6 percent (32-for-83) from beyond the arc. Leonard is also second in assists (3.33 apg) and second in steals (1.17 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.
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
420-242, while he owns a 245-171 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 had one televised game. Fox Sports Bay Area
broadcast the California game on Dec. 17.
Two more Northwestern games will air next 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 networkDave Eanet and Amy Prichard are joined by Ann Werner for this season's Big Ten Women's Basketball coverage.
