Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Host Hoosiers at 7 p.m. Thursday
1/11/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2006
Indiana Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern begins the longest home stand of the season on Thursday, when Indiana comes to town for a 7 p.m. matchup at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats (4-10, 0-4) will host the Hoosiers, Iowa, UW-Milwaukee and Penn State in the next week.
"This four-game home stand is important for us," said head coach Beth Combs. "We are just starting to gell as a team and now we need to get over the hump at home and win a few ball games. Our team is ready for a very tough Indiana squad in what promises to be a great game."
Last Time Out
Northwestern fought Illinois down to the wire, but the Illini edged out a 64-55 victory at Assembly Hall Sunday afternoon. Freshman Kristin Cartwright scored a career-high 13 points, while Ifeoma Okonkwo led all NU scorers with 16 points.
The Wildcats (4-10, 0-4) came off the tip aggressively, forcing three Illinois (10-4, 2-1) miscues in the first five minutes. The back-and-forth tempo provided an exciting start aided by a combined 25 turnovers and 14 steals in the first half. The first free throws of the game, by Sara Stutz, came with 1:34 minute left in the half.
Northwestern hung tough on the boards pulling down 17 rebounds in the first half, the same number as the Illini. Cartwright scored seven of her 13 points in the opening stanza, leading all NU scorers at the break.
NU went on a 7-4 run to close out the half down, 26-23.
The Wildcats went on a 12-4 run to open the second half, taking the lead, 29-26, after a three-point play by Cartwright.
Northwestern kept up the defensive pressure, holding the Illini scoreless until the 16:30 mark. Illinois' Danyel Crutcher's basket with 10:31 remaining gave Illinois a 38-37 lead, an advantage the orange and blue would not surrender the rest of the way.
Northwestern cut the score to a one-possession lead several times over the next five minutes, thanks to back-to-back buckets by Melissa Miller. Okonkwo scored 10 of her 16 points in the last 6:30 to keep the Wildcats nipping on Illini's heels.
Illinois hit 9-of-10 free throws in the last minute of play to secure the lead.
Miller finished with a team-high 12 rebounds and seven points. Okonkwo recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds, her fourth double-double of the season.
Cartwright's 16 points came on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.
Scouting Indiana
Indiana's 8-7, 2-2 record is not an accurate representation of how its season has gone so far. While the Hoosiers recorded a big road victory against Penn State, Indiana lost to No. 14 Purdue, 61-56, in overtime. Indiana is coming off a tough 69-64 home loss to No. 15/15 Minnesota on Monday. Indiana is led by Senior Cyndi Valentin, who tied the NCAA Div. I consecutive free throw record of 60 against Minnesota. Valentin is averaging 17 ppg, 4.0 rpg and a team-leading 3.6 apg.
The Series
Thursday's game will be the 54th meeting between these two teams. Northwestern leads the all-time series, 28-25, but Indiana has won the past two. The last time Northwestern and Indiana squared off, IU edged the Wildcats, 54-53 in Evanston. Cyndi Valentin led all scorers with 19 points, while Ifeoma Okonkwo pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
Cartwright Connecting from Beyond the Arc
Freshman Kristin Cartwright leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage, connecting on 50 percent (10-of-20) of her attempts from beyond the arc. In league games only, Cartwright ranks second in the conference, hitting 4-of-6 through four contests. She is also the Wildcat you want on the charity stripe with the game on the line. She leads the team in free throw percentage, hitting 15-of-18 (83 percent) this season. For more notes, see the game notes in pdf format at the top of this release.
