Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Richmond
Wildcats Squash Spiders, 68-65
11/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 30, 2002
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) scored a game-high 22 points as Northwestern women's basketball team downed the Richmond Spiders, 68-65, in the first round of the Rutgers Coca-Cola Classic in Piscataway, N.J., Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats and Spiders traded free throws down the stretch with NU hitting 16-of-17 opportunities in the final 2:10 to hang on for the victory.
Richmond (2-1) started the game with a quick 4-0 run in the first two minutes, but NU answered with five points of its own as the two teams went back and forth for the next eight minutes. The lead would change five times before Northwestern (1-2) took a commanding 21-11 lead with 6:58 remaining.
Freshman Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) started the 11-0 run, hitting two free throws at the 10:01 mark. NU scored the next nine points, but Richmond wouldn't go away. The Spiders turned up its defensive intensity, outscoring NU 18-9 to end the half, including a brief, 29-28, lead with 1:42 remaining. It was the last lead Richmond would have in the game. Samantha McComb's (North Farmington, Mich./North Farmington) third three-pointer of the half gave the Wildcats a 30-29 halftime advantage.
The second half was an up-and-down affair for the Wildcats, as they were out in front by as many as 14, before Richmond got back in the game. Using a full court press most of the contest, the Spiders were able to turn up the defensive intensity in the final seven minutes. That newly found intensity caused eight Wildcat turnovers, but just like Richmond, the Wildcats were also heading to the free throw line with regularity. Senior Natalie Will (Nappanee, Ind./Northwood) scored six of her 10 points from the charity stripe, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch. In all, five different Wildcats went 16-for-16 from the free throw line in the final two minutes.
Offensively, Kwasinski, McComb and Will combined for 44 of NU's 68 points and pulled down 19 of the Wildcats 33 rebounds. Sophomore Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) came off the bench to score seven points, while senior Leslie Dolland (Bloomington, Minn./The Blake School) had six points and five rebounds. Will led the team with six assists.
The 'Cats are next in action when they take on the winner of the Rutgers/Wagner game being played at 2 p.m. (EST). Game time is set for Sunday at 2 p.m.
