Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Florida International
Florida International Defeats Northwestern, 68-55
12/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2004
MIAMI, Fla. -- Northwestern got a career-high 28 points from senior Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) to go with a game-high 13 rebounds from junior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak), but Florida International came out on top Thursday night at Pharmed Arena, 68-55.
The game quickly shaped up as a duel between centers Kwasinski and FIU's Milena Tomova. The 6-foot-4 Kwasinski finished the first half with 12 points while 6-foot-3 Tomova had 14 as the Golden Panthers entered the break with a five-point lead, 31-26.
Kwasinski scored Northwestern's first six points of the second half, cutting the deficit to three with a jumper at 18:23.
The Wildcats (1-9) would make another run down 12 when Melissa Culver (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) drained a 3-ball followed by layups from Okonkwo and A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium) to cut the lead to five points with 10:00 left in the game.
FIU (6-2) again stretched the lead out, but Kwasinski again kept NU within striking distance, scoring the next eight Wildcat points to give her 28 on the game and keep Northwestern within nine points late in the game.
Kwasinski would pick up her fifth foul, however, with 2:25 to play and Tomova hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final two minutes to finish with a game-high 31 points and put the contest away for the Golden Panthers.
"We saw some very good play, especially in the first half," NU Head Coach Beth Combs said. "I'm happy with the way Sarah stepped up today, but we are still searching for that complete 40-minute effort."
Kwasinski's previous career-high was a 26-point effort as a freshman against Iowa State on Dec. 8, 2001.
Okonkwo grabbed 10 of her rebounds in the first half of the game, marking the second consecutive contest a Wildcat has pulled down 10 boards in a half. Freshman Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Minn./The Breck School) hit that mark Tuesday against UIC.
Northwestern returns to action at 5 p.m. CT (7 p.m. Atlantic Time) December 20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the first round of the San Juan Shootout. The Wildcats will face Northern Iowa in that first round game.
