Northwestern
Wisconsin
Wildcats Drop Big Ten Opener to Badgers, 93-72
12/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 28, 2006
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MADISON, Wis. -- Northwestern dropped its Big Ten Conference opener Thursday night at Wisconsin, 93-72. The two teams traded baskets the first 12-plus minutes of the game, but the Badgers ended the first half on a 22-5 run to seal the Wildcats' fate. Senior A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss-Gymnasium) led NU with 15 points, while freshman Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook, Ill./Benet Academy) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Northwestern will have the weekend off before hitting the hardwood next Thursday at Penn State. Game time is set for 6 p.m. (CT).
Both teams opened the game on fire, running up a 29-27 score in just over 12 minutes of play. But as Northwestern (6-8, 0-1) cooled off, Wisconsin (12-2, 1-0) started to heat up, all but sealing the win over the next seven minutes.
"Wisconsin is heckuva a team," said Northwestern head coach Beth Combs. "They have a ton of weapons."
With the score 29-27 Wisconsin, NU went 2-for-7 from the field with five turnovers to end the opening stanza. The Badgers on the other hand went 8-for-11 from the floor, including a three-pointer and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Wisconsin turned the ball over just 10 times (in the game) compared to 22 for the Wildcats.
"We competed for about 26 minutes," said Combs. "Unfortunately it's a 40-minute ballgame.
"We've been doing some good things. But we're making the same mistakes. We are allowing runs to get out of hand."
Down 51-32 at the break, NU lost the second half 42-40.
"I like the fact that we didn't quit," said Combs about the second half. "We became our own worst enemy offensively."
Sophomore Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) chipped in 13 points and handed out five assists, while McInerney scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting. She also had five assists.
Sophomore Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) chipped in eight points off the bench.
