Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Dominican Republic - EXHIBITION
Wildcats Down Dominican Republic, 56-46
11/12/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 12, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - In its only exhibition match of the preseason, Northwestern's women's basketball team defeated the Dominican Republic National Team, 56-46, at NU's Welsh-Ryan Arena Tuesday evening. After a slow start by both teams, NU took a lead it would never relinquish when sophomore Melissa Culver (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) hit a three-pointer at the 6:48 mark. That made the score 12-10 Wildcats.
The game was never in real jeopardy, even though NU never had a lead of more than 15 points at any given time. Defense turned out to be the cure for the shooting woes-shooting 35 percent for the game-forcing 28 turnovers and turning them into 28 points.
"We did some good things tonight," said head coach June Olkowski. "We also have some things to work on, but I saw more positive than negative. The biggest thing for us is to settle down, get rid of the nerves and play more consistently."
Junior Emily Butler (Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove) extended the lead to 15-10 when she hit her first shot of the game a few seconds later. It was Butler's first game action since a season-ending knee injury halted her 2001-02 campaign just four games into the season. Butler finished the game 2-for-5, both three-pointers.
NU outscored the Dominican team 15-7 to end the half with a 24-17 lead. Culver led all scorers with eight points at half and 14 in the game. Virginia transfer Kristin Ambrose (Minnetonka, Minn./The Blake School) was the games second leading scorer, chipping in 11 points in her first organized game as a Wildcat.
NU begins the regular season on Nov. 22 when NU's athletic department hosts a basketball doubleheader. The women's team takes on Illinois-Chicago at 5 p.m., while the men get started at 8 p.m. versus Maryland Eastern Shore.
