Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Rutgers
Scarlet Knights Down Wildcats in Championship Game, 62-50
12/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 1, 2002
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Despite double-digit performances from Melissa Culver (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) and Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick), Northwestern's women's basketball team was unable to defeat Rutgers University in the Championship Game of the Rutgers Coca-Cola Classic, losing 62-50. The game was played Sunday afternoon in Piscataway, N.J. at the Louis Brown Athletic Center on Rutgers' campus. Culver, who had a team-high 15 points, and Kwasinski (14 points, six rebounds) were named to the Coca-Cola All-Classic Team. The tournament team was voted on by tournament officials and attending media.
For the tournament, Culver averaged 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and two assists per game while Kwasinski averaged 18 points, 7.5 rebounds and one assist.
In other related women's basketball notes, Kwasinski extended her games with double-digit scoring to 11, a career high. The sophomore center also blocked two shots, giving her 59 for her career. The two rejections put her two behind Mya Whitmore (61, 1988-'91) for sixth on the career blocked shots list. Freshman Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) set a career high with three steals against the Scarlet Knights.
In the game, Rutgers (3-1) started with a full-court press, which NU handled with relative ease for the first 12 minutes. But with 8:35 left on the clock, the Scarlet Knights turned up the intensity and went on a 13-4 run to end the half and take a 31-22 lead at the break.
Northwestern (1-3) did not go quietly into the night. The Wildcats scored the first seven points of the second half, making the score 31-29 with 16:23 to go in regulation.
For the next five minutes it was a back-and-forth battle with each team trading baskets and defensive stops.
With 9:02 left on the game clock and the score 38-35 Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights scored nine of the next 11 points to hold a 47-37 advantage with 6:38 to go. But once again, the Wildcats were up to the challenge.
With the full-court press still on, NU cut the score to four (50-46) with 3:24 remaining, following a jumper by Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) and a Culver free throw.
NU could not close the gap, as Rutgers would outscore NU 12-to-5 to end the game. Most of those points came from the free throw line. The Scarlet Knights went 8-for-12 in the waning minutes of the game and shot just 56 percent (14-for-24) for the game. In that time span, NU was 5-for-7 from the line and 15-for-20 (75 percent) in the second half.
With the win, Rutgers has posted a perfect 10-0 record in the five years of the tournament. A complete list of all-tournament selections, including tournament MVP, can be found at the bottom of this page.
Northwestern is back in action this Friday, December 6, when they take on Yale at 6 p.m. in Welsh-Ryan Arena in the first round of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational. The four-team tournament includes Alabama-Birmingham and Central Michigan. UAB and CMU will square off at 8 p.m. Friday night or 30 minutes following the NU/Yale contest.
2002 Coca-Cola All-Classic Team
Melissa Culver, Northwestern
Sarah Kwasinski, Northwestern
Kate Flavin, Richmond
Mauri Horton, Rutgers
Chelsea Newton, Rutgers
2002 Coca-Cola Classic MVP
Cappie Pondexter, Rutgers
