Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Round Out Road Trip at No. 3 Ohio State
1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Jan. 21, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will face its toughest test of the season Sunday when it travels to No. 3/4 Ohio State to round out its current three-game road trip. The game features the Wildcats' second-consecutive ranked opponent during a stretch that will see NU take on five top-25 squads in six games.
Northwestern proved it can handle the tough competiton in its last outing, dominating No. 21 Iowa en route to a 41-27 haltime lead over the Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa would make a dramatic run in the second half to earn the win, but the 'Cats showed they can play against top teams on the road.
In the game, junior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) scored a game- and career-high 30 points, becoming the first NU player to reach that mark since All-American Kristina Dijvak poured in 35 points on Feb. 27, 1998, against Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament. Okonkwo is the seventh Big Ten player to score 30 in a single game this year.
Senior Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) scored 17 points to bring her team-leading average to 12.6 points per game while also swatting three shots to climb within eight blocks of becoming the all-time shot block leader at Northwestern.
Senior Samantha McComb (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) tied her career-high with eight assists against the Hawkeyes, bringing her team-leading average to 4.00 assists per game, good for fifth in the Big Ten. McComb also ranks in the top-10 in the conference in 3-point percentage (6th) and assist/turnover ratio (10th).
Ohio State enters Sunday's matchup with the No. 3 ranking in the country, most recently dealing Indiana a 52-30 defeat. The Buckeyes stopped red-hot Rutgers before that, becoming the only top-10 team to hold off the Scarlet Knights this season after Rutgers knocked off three top-10 opponents earlier in the year.
Jessica Davenport leads OSU with 17.4 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per contest. She also leads the Big Ten with 55 blocks.
Looking Ahead
The Wildcats will face ranked opponents in three of its next four games (the only team during that stretch which is not ranked is Penn State, which leads the Big Ten with a 6-0 record also is receiving votes in both polls). No. 24 Purdue, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 21 Iowa are the other schools NU will take on in that stretch.
The Series
All-Time Record: Ohio State leads, 27-15
Last Meeting: 57-46, Ohio State (Feb. 19, 2004)
Series Streak: 7, Ohio State
