Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Tangle With Golden Gophers On Sunday
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Wildcats cap off a week on the road Sunday, traveling to Minneapolis for a showdown with the fifth-place Gophers. Tip is set for 2 p.m. CT and will be broadcast over the airwaves on WNUR (89.3 FM).
Last Time Out...
Freshman Amy Jaeschke recorded a career-high 26 points, but it was not enough as Indiana defeated Northwestern 74-58 Thursday evening at Assembly Hall. It was the sixth time in the last seven games the 6-5 center has scored in double figures. Senior Nadia Bibbs joined Jaeschke in double digits with 11 and recorded her first double-double of the season with 12 rebounds.
Northwestern played the Hoosiers tight in the first half, forcing seven lead changes in the first 12 minutes alone. But Indiana pulled ahead with five minutes left, outscoring the Wildcats 16-6 to end the frame and push the halftime score to 36-23.
Northwestern out-shot Indiana in the second half and out-scored them in the paint as well.
Jaeschke scored 20 of her personal-best 26 points in the second half, with most of her points coming from the free-throw line where she went 10-of-13. She also added eight rebounds.
Scouting the Gophers
Minnesota is coming off a 61-56 victory over Illinois on Thursday, its first win after dropping back-to-back contests to conference front-runners Purdue and Ohio State. With a 7-5 league record, the Gophers are 5th in the Big Ten and one of only five teams with a winning record. Minnesota holds a 5-1 home record in conference games, but have had difficulty winning away from Williams Arena, going 2-4 on the road. Junior Emily Fox is the Gophers' leading scorer, averaging 16.4 ppg and 3.5 rpg. Fox is also Minnesota's biggest threat from beyond the arc, capitalizing on 42 percent of her shots from deep. Ashley Ellis-Milan leads the team with 7.1 rpg while also averaging with 11.2 ppg. Senior captain Leslie Knight (13.8) rounds up the trio of players averaging in double figures.
The Series Against Minnesota
This is the first match up between the Gophers and Wildcats this season. The last time these two teams met was in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament when Minnesota bested NU, 60-43. The last time the `Cats beat the Gophers was in 2000.
Block-By-Block
Freshman Amy Jaeschke needs one rejection to crack Northwestern's record books for blocks in a season. She currently has 33 swats on the year and would tie Anucha Browne for 10th on the all-time list with one more rejection. 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 15 out of NU's 23 games, one Jaeschke has led the team in either scoring or rebounding. Amy matched her career-high 26 points against Indiana on Thursday, marking the eighth time her 13 games she has led the team in scoring. Her eight rebounds were also a team-high. Amy has led NU in rebounding on eight occasions. Ellen, a junior, has topped the scoring column three times in 22 games and been the rebounding leader on five occasions. Both are shooting above 40 percent from the field.
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