Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Set To Take On No. 10 Purdue
1/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2004
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Northwestern will face its third-consecutive top-25 team this week when it faces No. 10 Purdue on the road. It will be the first Big Ten road contest for the Wildcats, who are looking for their first conference win of the season. The 'Cats are coming off of two disappointing losses at home last week. Minnesota and Ohio State took league games by 30 or more points, a note not lost by head coach June Olkowski.
"Ohio State was better than we were on Sunday, but they are not 40 points better," said Olkowski. "It is the same thing with Minnesota. Our kids know that. We are not playing nearly up to the potential that we were before leaving for break.We can make excuses of injuries and suspensions, but we know that we need to stay focused."
Injury and illness have plagued NU (7-7, 0-3 Big Ten) since the December holidays, and they have dropped four of their last five after starting the season with a 7-4 record. Missing from the lineup were Samantha McComb, the 'Cats' leading scorer, honorable mention All-Big Ten center Sarah Kwasinski, Kristin Ambrose and Maria McCarthy. Suzanne Morrison is listed as a medical redshirt for 2003-04. Kwasinski was back in the lineup vs. Ohio State, but is still shaking off the rustiness. Ambrose is questionable vs. Purdue, while McComb and McCarthy will not play.
Northwestern's rookie class is making some noise on the court, playing well despite the three league losses. Germans Alex Mueller and A.J. Glasauer have combined for over 46% of all Wildcat points in the last three games, while Illinois native Breanne Smilie has seen significant playing time as well as her first career start.
No. 10 Purdue will provide another big challenge for the young Wildcats as the Boilermakers are winners of their last three, including conference wins over Illinois (58- 49) and then-No. 23 Michigan State (77-67) on the road. Purdue also beat Notre Dame 76-63 in nonconference action in that stretch.Their lone Big Ten loss came to then-No. 10 Penn State by the score of 47-42.
The Boilermakers are led by senior Shereka Wright, who averages 19.6 ppg and added a game-high 22 vs. the Illini. Junior Emily Heikes leads Purdue in rebounds, averaging 6.6 per game.
Kristy Curry is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Boilermakers, owning a 119-29 record, 52-15 in Big Ten play.
