Northwestern University Athletics
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Western Michigan
Wildcats Tame Broncos 64-60
11/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 24, 2004
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - There is something to be said for home court advantage. Northwestern proved that Wednesday night, coming back from early deficits and a Western Michigan second-half charge to beat the Broncos 64-60. The win was NU's first under first-year coach Beth Combs.
"I am absolutely thrilled to get this first win as a Wildcat," said Combs. "The girls came out from the get-go and played their hearts out for 40 minutes, which is something we've stressed from day one. We want them to be able to play through adversity. They should be extremely proud of themselves. I am extremely proud of them."
Northwestern (1-2) was forced to play catch-up with WMU early on as the Broncos pulled away with three pointers and capitalized on NU turnovers. Down by as many as seven with under six minutes to play, the 'Cats went on a 16-0 run to close the half, taking a 39-30 lead into the locker room. Junior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) grabbed two steals and six points in that run, while Samantha McComb (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) drained two threes.
The Wildcat lead grew to 10 by 12:15 of the second, thanks largely in part to six Bronco turnovers. That lead slowly diminished when Western Michigan answered with a 16-5 run, briefly taking the 56-54 lead at 4:23. Senior Melissa Culver (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) responded with a three to regain the lead and Northwestern never looked back. Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) added five of her team-leading 18 points in the final minutes to help secure the win.
"We were more evenly matched against Western Michigan," said Combs. "We were able to go inside a lot more, while they had some problems getting inside most of the night. The team needs to continue to work on consistency, but we will take this momentum and build off of it."
Morrison, who was one shy of matching her career record for points, grabbed a team-high eight boards in the contest. Okonkwo chipped in 12 points and set a new career mark for steals with six. McComb again led the 'Cats in assists with four.
Overall, Northwestern shot 36.6 percent and 81.8 percent from the foul line. The 'Cats turned the ball over 13 times -- eight fewer than the Broncos -- and recorded 15 steals in the contest compared to WMU's five.
"Our next task is a tall one -- DePaul," said Combs. "They are nationally ranked and they have home court advantage. But we will come ready to play hard and use the win we earned tonight."
Northwestern plays at DePaul Saturday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
