Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Looks For Answers At Indiana
1/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2004
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - After dropping its fourth-straight and third-straight by 30 or more points, the Wildcats need to figure out how to get a win in the Big Ten. And they have to do it knowing that injuries have become a part of their season. But head coach June Olkowski isn't interested in hearing that excuse anymore.
"We need to find a way to win with the girls we have on the floor," said Olkowski. "Injuries cannot be an excuse for the players who are well. I expect leadership from people on and off the court, and we can't be content making excuses anymore."
Injury and illness have plagued NU (7-8, 0-4 Big Ten) since the December holidays, and they have dropped five of their last six 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 is now back in the lineup, but is still shaking off the rustiness. Ambrose is seeing minimal time, McCarthy is possible at Indiana and McComb will not play.
Northwestern's rookie class is making some noise on the court, playing well despite the four league losses. Germans Alex Mueller and A.J. Glasauer have combined for over 32% of all Wildcat points (51 of 159) in the last four games, with Mueller scoring 32 of those 51 points. Illinois native Breanne Smilie has seen significant playing time as well as her first career start. Her lone previous point came on a foul shot at Southern Illinois and Smilie scored eight vs. Purdue.
Indiana has dropped their last two Big Ten games to Michigan (65-59) and most recently Iowa (72-65), both on the road. The Hoosiers' conference victory came vs. Wisconsin at home by the score of 60-39. IU started the Big Ten season with a loss to then-No. 23 Michigan State (59-41).
Junior Jenny DeMuth is leading the Hoosiers in points and boards, averaging 20.5 and 7.9, respectively. Sophomore Cyndi Valentin is also averaging double-digit points with 14.4.
Kathi Bennett is in her fourth season at Indiana, her 16th overall. She is 58-47 with the Hoosiers, 282-150 overall.
A Northwestern win would bring the Wildcats back up to .500, as NU dropped below the mark for the first time this season with the loss to Purdue. It would also be the second-consecutive victory over the Hoosiers. NU defeated IU 50-46 on Feb. 20, 2003.
