Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Net A Big Ten Win
2/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Summing up the emotions in Northwestern's locker room was not difficult after Thursday's game against Indiana. While a Big Ten win may have eluded the Wildcats up until mid-February, head coach June Olkowski and her Wildcats have not forgotten how to celebrate.
"All you have to do is listen to the girls laugh," said Olkowski. "They are smiling. I haven't really forgotten how it feels to win, and neither has the team."
While the Wildcats have come close to victory before in league play, specifically against the Hoosiers in January's overtime loss in Bloomington, they did not have the spark to finish a game with a win. The opening of Thursday's game was uncertain, as NU was held scoreless for over six minutes, but the Wildcats bucked that trend and put on a show in the second half to come from behind and take the game.
Northwestern (8-15, 1-11 Big Ten) came back from a 23-16 deficit and outscored IU 32-13 in the second-half, including a 15-2 run to open, and held the Hoosiers scoreless until 13:53. With the score standing 25-23 in favor of Indiana, a three-pointer by freshman Alex Mueller put the 'Cats up by one for their first lead of the game. NU would hold onto that lead for the remainder of the contest.
Mueller scored 11 of her team-high 14 points in the second as well as three of her four from beyond the arc. Overall, she hit 4-of-5 threes.
The Wildcats also held former Big Ten Player of the Week Jenny DeMuth--who averaged 18.6 ppg prior to Thursday--to six points, as the forward was just 1-14 from the field. Cyndi Valentin was the leading scorer for the Hoosiers, chipping in 15 overall. Valentin was behind IU's dominance in the first, knocking down three threes, but Northwestern adjusted in the second and kept her out of three-point range.
"I think we defended well and responded in the second," said Olkowski. "We took their scorers out of the game and made them take tough shots. We let Valentin get three open looks in the first half, but in the second half we did a much better job of harassing them. We rebounded, too. Offensively, we missed shots but then we rebounded it. We ran the clock down and made the game shorter, which is in our gameplan. We didn't get any backdoor cuts, but we made our threes."
Junior Samantha McComb also came up big in the second half, scoring all nine of her total points. In the game she added a season-high seven boards. Senior Michelle Zylstra added six in the second to bring her game total to nine.
Freshman A.J. Glasauer is credited with keeping the 'Cats in the game early, leading Northwestern with six in the first. After Sarah Kwasinski put NU on the board at 13:39, Glasauer posted back-to-back layups to bring the Wildcats within five. A Zylstra three and Glasauer jumper tied it at 13 before IU jumped in front again late in the half.
"It is amazing what can happen when you have somewhat of a healthy team," said Olkowski. "I thought A.J. played extremely well. 'Kwas' struggled a little from the floor, but she defended well and rebounded so you have to honor her. That removed their center (Sarah McKay) from the middle."
Kwasinski led the Wildcats with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Overall Northwestern shot 33.3%(15-45) compared to IU's 23.1% (12-52). The Wildcats also had 15 turnovers, two fewer than the Hoosiers, and came up with eight from three-point range.
"The kids were relaxed and communicating well and cheering each other on," said Olkowski. "It was about good camaraderie and everyone working really hard. I just think it is a credit to the kids and their character."
Northwestern will host Purdue in its final home game of the season at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The senior class (Michelle Zylstra, Kristin Ambrose and Suzi Sutton) will be honored prior to tipoff.
