Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Michigan
Northwestern Defeats Michigan, 77-57
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. All season, head coach Beth Combs has emphasized the importance of playing a full 40 minutes of basketball. Thursday night against Michigan, the Wildcats did just that en route to a commanding 77-57 victory at Crisler Arena.
"Wow. I can't say enough about how our team came out tonight," Combs said after the game. "We were able to come out with a lot of confidence, heart, intensity and emotion."
As a team, the Wildcats hit an impressive 94.7 percent (18-of-19) from the charity stripe, the best team performance in Wildcat history. Senior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) etched her name in the NU record books for the second time this season, hitting 13-of-14 (92 percent) free throws. Okonkwo's performance ties her for fifth on the single-game free-throws made list and ties her for eighth on the single-game free-throw percentage list.
Okonkwo led the 'Cats (5-14, 1-8) with 29 points and seven rebounds. Three other Wildcats joined the Spring, Texas native in double-figures. Freshman Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) added 10 points and a game-high eight assists while A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium) and Nadia Bibbs (Chicago, Ill./Hillcrest/Boston University) added 10 and 12 points respectively. Sophomore Melissa Miller pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
Both teams jumped out of the blocks to open the game, matching eachother's baskets until Northwestern went on a 10-4 run in the heart of the first half. Michigan answered with an 11-0 spurt, aided by three treys, to take a 24-22 lead with five minutes remaining.
Okonkwo then took the game over for NU, exploding for 10 points over the next five minutes. The Wildcats closed out the half on a 14-5 run, pushing the score to 36-32 at the break.
Okonkwo parlayed 12-of-12 free throws to 20 points in the opening half.
Northwestern continued its hot shooting and aggressive play in the second half, going on a 16-6 spurt to open the stanza.
The Wildcats never let up, inflating the lead to as many as 26 with under five minutes remaining in the game.
The Wildcats topped the Wolverines in nearly every aspect of the game, dominating on the boards, 34-28, collecting 12 steals while committing only nine turnovers, and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field (29-of-60).
Northwestern hits the road again on Sunday in a 1 p.m. CST contest at No. 11 Purdue.
