Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Basketball Hosts No. 9 Purdue Tonight
1/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. -
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NORTHWESTERN (4-9, 0-2 Big Ten)
vs. #10/9 Purdue (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten)
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 3/7 p.m. CST
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)
Capacity: 8,117
Radio: WNUR (89.3 FM)
Coach June Olkowski keeps searching for the winning combination, as she used all 11 players who suited up for NU's 68-53 loss to Illinois. It was the ninth time this season she has used 11 or more players in a game.
Against the Illini, freshman point guard Melissa Culver hit a season- and career-high five three-pointers on her way to a team-high 16 points. Classmate Sarah Kwasinski dropped in 14 points, going 7-of-14 from the floor. Each player played 32 minutes in the game. Kwasinski also had three blocks, upping her season total to 23.
It's a new year and NU is hoping for some new results as they start the 2001-02 Big Ten season 0-2 with losses to Iowa (74-47) and Illinois. The Wildcats were winless a year ago (0-16) and haven't defeated a regular season Big Ten opponent since since a 50-44 decision over Minnesota back on Jan. 20, 2000, a 28-game stretch. The 'Cats did defeat the Hawkeyes (68-59) at the 2000 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis' Conseco Fieldhouse-site of this year's tournament.
Purdue is off to its best start (10-2) since 1998-99-they were 11-1 after 12 games-when the Boilermakers went 34-1 to win the NCAA Championship. The current Boilermakers ended 2001 with a thrashing of then-No. 12 Michigan (69-47). But previously 14th-ranked Wisconsin gave the Boilermakers a rude introduction into conference play with a 71-59 upset at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The media's preseason Big Ten favorite, Purdue has four players averaging double figures led by sophomore Shereka Wright's 17.7 points per game. The Boilermakers are led by the senior Kelly Komara. The Indiana native averages 12.2 points and 5.2 assists per game.
Swat Team
Comparing 2001-02 to 2000-01, NU has nine more blocks after the first 13 games than it did a year ago. As of Jan. 2, NU has 43 blocks compared to 34 at the same time last year. The jump is due in large part to the arrival of 6-foot-5 freshman Sarah Kwasinski, who leads the team with 23 blocks. She needs three more to to tie Patricia Babcock (1986-87) and Nancy Kennelly (1988-89) for 10th on the single-season block record list.
D-D-D-Defense
Through 13 games, Northwestern is allowing just 62.1 points per game in scoring defense. That's good enough for fifth in the conference. Today's foe, Purdue, leads the Big Ten allowing just 55.2 points per contest.
One is the Loneliest Number
Freshman Melissa Culver has come within one assist of attaining double figures three times this season. She has 61 (4.69 per game) helpers this season, good enough to rank her fourth on the Big Ten's assist list. Penn State's Jess Strom (105-8.08), Wisconsin's Tamara Moore (83-6.92) and Purdue's Kelly Komara (62-5.17) rank higher.
NU vs. PURDUE
Series Record: PU leads 27-18
Last NU win: 2/21/97 (64-55)
Last Purdue win: 1/14/01 (94-37)
Current Win Streak: Purdue-9 wins
In Evanston: 10-10
at Purdue: 7-16
Neutral Site: 1-1
Overtime Games: NU is 1-1
Series Notes: Olkowski is 0-3 against Purdue in her two-plus years.
Top Performers
Freshman center Sarah Kwasinski continues to stand out, as she was one of the Big Ten's "Top Performers" for her play against Iowa State on Dec. 8. She turned in a career-best performance against fifth-ranked Iowa State, netting 18 of her game-high 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the second half. She also led all rebounders with 10, including seven on the offensive glass. Not to be outdone, junior center Leslie Dolland received her own "Top Performer" accolades (Dec. 17) for her 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals in just 17 minutes of work against Eastern Illinois.
"Assist"ing Others
Since her insertion in the starting lineup against DePaul, Melissa Culver has averaged 5.3 assists per game. She is presently on pace to dish out 135 assists this season.
Board Games
As a team, NU is seventh in the conference in offensive rebounding, averaging 13.92 a game. But 6-foot-5-inch Sarah Kwasinski is sixth on the conference's individual list, pulling down 2.92 caroms a game. Indiana's Jill Chapman leads the league with 4.00 rebounds per game. Not to be outdone, classmate Suzanne Morrison averages 2.33 offensive boards a contest.
Don't Call It a Comeback
Junior Anya Walker is back this year after sitting out the entire 2000-01 season with turf toe. The Wisconsin native is averaging 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. The shooting guard is tied for the team lead in three pointers, draining nine so far this season. Forty-five of Walkers 76 shot attempts have been from beyond the arc.
Rebounding Margin
With 13 games under its belt, NU has outrebounded opponents 533-502, averaging 41.0 caroms per contest. 6-foot-5 inch Sarah Kwasinski is leading the rebounding attack, pulling down 7.2 boards per game. Classmate Suzanne Morrison is on her heels, averaging 6.4 caroms per contest. Beyond that, the two have combined to grab 68 of NU's 153 individual offensive boards (team rebounds equal 28).
World Traveler
Senior Ashley Messenger went on a nine-day tour of Europe this summer during which she helped the Big Ten women's basketball foreign tour team go a perfect 5-0. The Big Ten outscored its opponents by an average of 38.4 points per contest. During the tour, Messenger averaged 4.4 points and played in all five games. She averaged 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists a game, and scored seven points against Martigny and Troistorents.
Top 21
Freshman Sarah Kwasinski, a standout center from Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill., was named to womenscollegehoops.com's Preseason Top 21 New Players of Impact for the upcoming 2001-02 season.
NU Starting Lineup Game-By-Game
Northern Illinois: Butler, Messenger, Morrison, Will, Zylstra
@ Miami: Butler, Messenger, Morrison, Will, Zylstra
@ Florida International: Butler, Daniels, Kwasinski, Messenger, Zylstra
vs. Monmouth: Butler, Daniels, Kwasinski, Messenger, Zylstra
DePaul: Culver, Daniels, Kwasinski, Messenger, Zylstra
Hofstra: Culver, Kwasinski, Morrison, Walker, Zylstra
Houston: Culver, Kwasinski, Morrison, Walker, Zylstra
Denver: Culver, Kwasinski, Morrison, Walker, Zylstra
Iowa State: Culver, Kwasinski, Morrison, Walker, Zylstra
@ Eastern Illinois: Culver, Kwasinski, McComb, Morrison, Will
Long Beach State: Culver, Kwasinski, McComb, Morrison, Will
Iowa: Culver, Kwasinski, McComb, Morrison, Will
@ Illinois: Culver, Kwasinski, McComb, Morrison, Will
Probable Starters for 1/3:
Purdue: Culver, Kwasinski, McComb, Morrison, Will
@ Ohio State:
@ Iowa:
Wisconsin:
Illinois:
@ Penn State:
@ Michigan State:
Penn State:
@ Michigan:
Minnesota:
@ Wisconsin:
Ohio State:
Michigan:
@ Indiana:
Quick Studies
There are six newcomers to the 2002 women's basketball squad. This group has made the transition from high school to college (with the exception of Anya Walker-JuCo transfer) and stepped right into the Wildcat lineup. In fact, NU has scored 756 total points this season, and 423 of those have been scored by the newest members of the team. That's 56 percent of the offense.
Double Trouble
Freshmen Sarah Kwasinski and Suzanne Morrison are the only two Wildcats to reach the double-double (points/rebounds) plateau this season. In fact, Kwasinski has reached that plateau four times in her first 13 games. That number is good enough to put her in third-place in the Big Ten statistics. Morrison has just one, but has come within one rebound in two other games.
Starting Young
Starting against Eastern Illinois, Coach Olkowski started four true freshmen. Guards Samantha McComb and Melissa Culver, center Sarah Kwasinski and forward Suzanne Morrison are the newcomers. Junior Natalie Will was the only non-freshman starter.
Charity Stripe
Thirteen games into the season, Northwestern has hit 145-of-204 free throw attempts. That's 71 percent, third in the Big Ten. NU is led by junior Anya Walker, who is shooting 91 percent from the line (10-for-11).
From Downtown
Before being sidelined by injury, junior Emily Butler was creeping up the career three-point field goal made list and the career three-point field goals attempted list. As of Nov. 26, she has hit 64 three-pointers in her career, needing just seven more to tie Kellie Cook for seventh on the career list. She also is seventh on the three-point field goal attempted list, launching 199 long balls thus far in her career.
Honorable Mention
Emily Butler is the Wildcats' top returner after earning honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 2000-01. The Greenwood, Ind., native averaged 12.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last year and scored in double figures 15 of the 26 games she played. Butler led the team in shots made and attempted while averaging more than 32 minutes a game, and was second on the team in three-pointers (28) and steals (32).
Not Just Yet
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Kristin Ambrose must sit out the entire 2001-02 season.
"Kristin has postseason experience and is dedicated not only to making her game better, but making our team's game better," said Olkowski. "She'll be a huge asset in practice."
At Virginia, she appeared in six games in 2000-01 and averaged 3.0 minutes, registering two rebounds against Mount St. Marys. She also played against Loyola, Saint Francis, Maryland, Liberty and Richmond.
New Addition
During the offseason, Coach Olkowski announced the hiring of former Notre Dame standout Sheila McMillen as her third assistant. McMillen comes to Evanston after spending two years as the third assistant coach at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich.
Freshmen PT
As the Wildcats took the floor for the season opener, true freshman Suzanne Morrison made her collegiate debut. Classmate Sarah Kwasinski broke into the lineup two games later, earning the start against Florida International. In all, the freshman class has made a considerable contribution already in this young season. Four of the five members of the 2005 class have started a game and all five have seen considerable action this season.
