Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Women's Basketball Bests Iowa, 68-59
3/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 2, 2000
EVANSTON, Ill. - Four Northwestern women's basketball players scored in double figures, and the Wildcats used the balanced effort to defeat Iowa, 68-59, in the first round of the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. The event is being held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.
Leslie Schock and Leslie Dolland led the 'Cats with 13 points apiece, and Dana Leonard and Emily Butler added 10 each to propel the team to the win. The victory was NU's second over Iowa this year, but was considered an upset in this tournament because the Wildcats were the 10th seed while the Hawkeyes were the seventh seed.
Northwestern (7-20) will move on to play Michigan Friday evening at 5 p.m. Central. The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Chicago.
The Wildcats roared out of the gate, scoring the game's first 10 points, before Iowa (9-18) recovered and went on a 12-2 run to tie the game. The teams then traded baskets for the most part, though NU never fell behind. A 9-0 run near the end of the half propelled the Wildcats to a 27-21 lead at halftime.
After Tami Sears hit a jumper for the first points of the second half, Iowa went on a 12-4 run to again draw even at 33-33. However, an unlikely source -- Billee Russell -- took control for the Wildcats, scoring six straight points to start a 13-point run.
The Hawkeyes again clawed their way back, using a 12-2 run to draw within three points (48-45), and then another 10-point NU lead was cut down to three points (55-52) with five minutes to play in regulation.
However, Northwestern made one final run that Iowa could not answer, as the 'Cats went on a 7-1 binge over a span of three minutes and hit their foul shots in the final minute to seal the win.
Sears, Dolland and Natalie Will all had seven rebounds to pace Northwestern, which out-boarded Iowa, 44-30. For the Hawkeyes, Lindsey Meder finished with 23 points while Leah Magner had 16.
