Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Lose Heartbreaker To Hoosiers In OT
1/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2004
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Playing one of its gutsiest games since the holiday break, Northwestern was unable to emerge the winner at Indiana, falling to the Hoosiers in overtime 58-55. Alex Mueller scored a career-high 19 in the loss, while Ifeoma Okonkwo added 12. The game was the first since the Jan. 8 loss to Minnesota that two 'Cats scored in the double digits.
"This is probably more disappointing than the previous three losses," said head coach June Olkowski. "But we can take away some real positive things from this. The team battled hard when they were down and we had 12 turnovers in an overtime game, down from the 20's in our recent games. We are heading in the right direction."
The Wildcats held sizeable leads in the first half after both teams battled early on. With the Hoosiers and 'Cats Tied at 12, NU went on a 6-0 run followed by a 5-0 stretch to lead by as many as nine. Mueller hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the half and Northwestern hit five-of-ten from 3-point range.
Indiana came within two at the half thanks to a 9-2 run, ending the first 27-25 in favor of the Wildcats. Jenny DeMuth, IU's leading scorer, scored 10 of the 25 team points for the Hoosiers.
Though neither team scored in the opening 4:32 of the second, the Hoosiers came back ready to strike hard. Straying from the strong play in the opening half, the 'Cats found themselves down by eight early in the second due to back-to-back-to-back missed shots as well as consecutive turnovers.
But unlike the past four Big Ten games, Northwestern battled back from that deficit with a 12-2 run to briefly regain the lead. Okonkwo and Mueller added 12 and nine points, respectively. Sarah Kwasinski scored four of her eight game points in the half.
"We need Sarah to play great defense, and she came to play tough today," said head coach June Olkowski. "She is really starting to come around after being out for a few games, and we think she's turned that corner for us."
Tied at 51 heading into overtime thanks to free throws by Okonkwo, the 'Cats were up by two in OT with foul shots by Mueller but fell behind after Cyndi Valentin, the game's leading scorer, shot back-to-back field goals. The Wildcats had possession of the ball with the game at 58-55 but were unable to put up a shot in the final seconds.
"It was a physical game and I was surprised that we weren't in the bonus earlier in each half," said co-captain Michelle Zylstra. "We battled hard. I am proud of my teammates because despite it being a tough loss, we did a lot of good things. We cut our turnovers my more than half and shot the ball well. It was a good game."
