Northwestern University Athletics
Hoosiers Down 'Cats 74-52 To Conclude 2007-08 Campaign
3/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
March 6, 2008
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.-- Northwestern fought hard but in the end, sixth-seeded Indiana prevailed 74-52 Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. Sophomore captain Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel/Syracuse) tied her career-high with 13 points and seven rebounds while Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led NU on the glass with eight boards and also added 11 points.
"We're obviously disappointed in the outcome, but give Indiana credit," head coach Beth Combs said. "I'm proud of what our team has done all year, fighting through the adversity that we've encountered. I'm looking forward to the future."
Indiana's Amber Jackson ran off seven-straight points to open the game before a jumper from Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Minn./The Breck School) put the 'Cats on the board. Jackson continued her hot streak adding two more buckets to push IU's lead to 11-4 with 15:11 remaining.
Indiana outscored NU 11-4 over the next four minutes to take a 14-point advantage with just over 10 minutes remaining. But the Wildcats answered with a 6-0 run to pull within eight at the 7:48 mark.
Every time the Hoosiers would string together a mini run, Northwestern would stop their momentum with a basket of its own, keeping the lead to single-digits for most of the remaining eight minutes.
IU ended the half with momentum, however, running off the last six points to take a 38-24 halftime lead. Eckhart led the 'Cats with 10 points at the break and Jaeschke collected six rebounds.
The Hoosiers opened the second half with back-to-back treys to take a 44-26 advantage two minutes into the frame and never relinquished the lead.
Savannah Stedman (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon) turned in a solid game, contributing a career-high nine points and five rebounds.
Eckhart went 4-of-5 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
