Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Eastern Illinois
Women's Basketball Defeats Eastern Illinois, 68-44
12/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2001
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Northwestern women's basketball team, with a 68-44 win over Eastern Illinois, improved to 3-7 on the season Sunday afternoon. All 12 Wildcats found the scoring column with junior center Leslie Dolland (Bloomington, Minn./The Blake School) leading the way. The Minnesota native led all scorers with 14 points, eight in the second half, on 6-of-9 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds in just 17 minutes of work.
Freshman Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) led the 'Cats on the boards for the fifth time this season, collecting eight caroms. She is averaging 6.5 rebounds per game.
Both teams came out of the gate sluggish with NU creeping out to a 7-2 lead with 15 minutes left in the half. The Panthers would take a brief lead at 13-12, but the Wildcat defense proved to be too much for the Panthers. NU outscored EIU 20-6 in the final 10:48 to take a 32-19 lead into the break. NU forced 16 first-half turnovers, converting 19 points from the Panther miscues.
After the intermission, NU maintained its intensity, starting the second stanza with a 12-5 run and taking a 21-point lead with 10:04 remaining. Senior Ashley Messenger (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) converted two fast break layups in the run and finished with a season-high 11 points. Messenger was 5-of-6 from the floor.
For the game, the Wildcats outscored the Panthers in the paint 42-18 and scored 31 points off 29 EIU turnovers.
NU outrebounded Eastern 39-to-31, holding an 18-to-12 advantage on the offensive glass. NU is averaging 40.1 rebounds a game. The rebounding difference resulted in 18 second chance points for NU.
