Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Court Wolverines Thursday Evening
2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After two road games last week, the Wildcats return to Welsh-Ryan Arena for a date with Michigan, a squad looking to crack .500 in conference play. Thursday's battle is set for 7 p.m. CT and will be broadcast over the airwaves on WNUR (89.3 FM).
Last Time Out...
Minnesota used a 50 percent shooting effort on the afternoon to propel itself to a 68-48 victory over Northwestern Sunday at Williams Arena. Freshmen Meshia Reed and Amy Jaeschke led the Wildcats with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Jaeschke also led NU on the boards with five.
The Gophers jumped out to a six-point lead six minutes into the game, but Reed single-handedly pulled Northwestern back into the game, rattling off six unanswered points to even the score at 13 a piece with 11:53 left in the half.
Minnesota outscored Northwestern 14-2 to end the frame and hold a 10-point halftime advantage.
Junior Erin Dickerson led Northwestern out of the break, knocking down a trey on the opening possession. A bucket by Melissa Miller cut the Gopher lead in half, 34-29. Minnesota responded with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 45-29 with 14:26 remaining in the game. Northwestern chipped away at the lead and a jumper by freshman Shantina Boyd pulled NU to within 10 with just over 11 minutes left.
Minnesota once again had an answer and this time, it would not allow the Wildcats back in the game, outscoring Northwestern 18-11 the rest of the way to claim its eighth conference victory.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan has been one of the great turnaround stories in the Big Ten this season. Last year's squad finished a dismal 10-20 overall and 3-13 in conference and UM enters today's game with a 13-9, 6-6 mark. Under the tutelage of first-year head coach Kevin Borseth, the Wolverines have focused on shooting, collectively nailing 42 percent of their looks, good for fourth in the Big Ten. Michigan is third in free-throw percentage, shooting nearly 75 percent from the charity stripe and first in three-point field goals made (6.5 per game). Krista Phillips and Carly Benson top the scoring column, averaging 11.2 and 10.4 ppg, respectively. The 6-6 Phillips also leads UM on the boards, hauling down 6.0 per contest. The Wolverines had last Sunday off, following a 68-53 victory at Crisler over Penn State Thursday. Prior to that win, Michigan had dropped its last three games to Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa.
The Series Against Michigan
Northwestern holds a 33-21 advantage in the all-time series against the Wolverines and have won the three out of the last five meetings. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 6 in Ann Arbor when the Wolverines pulled out a 54-42 victory. Freshman Meshia Reed led the 'Cats with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds--the first double-double of her career--while Ellen Jaeschke chipped in a double dip as well, with 12 points and 11 boards.
Block-By-Block
With four rejections against Minnesota on Sunday, freshman Amy Jaeschke slid into sixth place in the NU record books for single-season blocked shots. She now has 37 blocks on the year, tying her with Anucha Browne (1984-85) and Sarah Kwasinski (2003-04; 2004-05). The all-time record for single-season blocks is 58 set by Christina Braden during the 1995-96 campaign.
Family Matters
Cousins Amy and Ellen Jaeschke have made an immediate impact at Northwestern. In 16 out of NU's 24 games, one Jaeschke has led the team in either scoring or rebounding. Amy matched her career-high 26 points against Indiana a week ago (2/7), marking the eighth time her 13 games she has led the team in scoring. Amy has led NU in rebounding on nine occasions, including Sunday's five rebounds against Minnesota. Ellen, a junior, has topped the scoring column three times in 23 games and been the rebounding leader on five occasions. Both are shooting above 40 percent from the field.
Stutz Named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District
Senior captain Sara Stutz was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team for the second consecutive season. Stutz made the third team this season after a second-team selection last year. The Glenview, Illinois has not played since suffering a partial ACL tear during the January 10th game against Penn State.
Former Wildcat Michele Savage Featured by Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference announced the continued effort to commemorate the achievements of African-Americans on Big Ten campuses with its Black History Month website. During the month of February, the website will feature stories on male and female student-athletes from each institution and can be accessed at www.bigten.org. Former women's basketball player Michele Savage and former football standout D'Wayne Bates are NU's two honorees.
For complete game notes, please click on the PDF above.
