Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Northwestern Can't Stop Surging Hawkeyes
1/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern looked like it would make Thursday's game vs. Iowa an interesting one, running neck-and-neck with the Hawkeyes through the first half. But Iowa's offense ran away with the contest in the second and made the most of its open shots to take the game 76-61. The Wildcats are 7-12 overall, 0-8 in the Big Ten.
Turnovers again were an issue for the 'Cats, who committed 20 of them compared to Iowa's 14. Although Northwestern suffered a cold night from the free throw line (NU shot 42.9%, Iowa 86.7%), it did outshoot Iowa overall (48.1% to 47.5%).
"We play possession basketball, that's why we try to take time off the clock to shorten the game," said head coach June Olkowski. "But committing turnovers kills that strategy. We shot close to 50% from the field so if you take four or five of those turnovers away, it becomes a close game."
Jamie Cavey and Kristi Faulkner were dominant on the court, accounting for 46 of the Hawkeye's 76 points. Jennie Lillis added 12, but no other Iowa player scored more than five points in the game.
Ifeoma Okonkwo registered her third double-double of the season, leading NU with 14 points and 10 boards. The Spring, Texas native has led the Wildcats in scoring in six games this season and rebounds in eight.
"Ifeoma played hard today," said Olkowski. "She got us a bunch of opportunities tonight. That's a performance we need from her game-in and game-out. I hope she gains confidence from that."
Despite a 6-0 run to open the second half, which put Iowa up by 16, Olkowski's Wildcats battled hard through the final minutes, coming back from 25-point deficits and ending the game with a 3-pointer and back-to-back layups.
"The plan was for us to come out and score six points and not them," said Olkowski. "But their run to open the half forced us to play catchup. The important thing is we kept battling back. We played to the end."
The month of February does not start any easier for the Wildcats -- they visit fifth-ranked Penn State (16-3) on Sunday. Game time is set for 2 p.m. EST.
