Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
Wildcats Use Huge Offensive Night To Down Gophers, 62-53
2/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Three Wildcats tallied double figures and Northwestern shot 45 percent from the field, including 50 percent from three-point land and 88 percent from the line en route to a 62-53 win over Minnesota Monday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Junior Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) notched 14 points and collected a game-high eight rebounds while freshman Brittany Orban (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) and sophomore Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Northwestern held Minnesota to just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc, a vital weapon in their scoring arsenal, while hitting 6-of-12 from the same distance. Senior Erin Dickerson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) converted on a game-high three triples to spark NU's sharp shooting.
After a Golden Gopher triple to open the game, Northwestern's defense shut down Minnesota offensively, forcing three turnovers and a shot clock violation while rattling off eight unanswered points.
Following NU's aggressive lead, the two teams traded buckets over the next seven minutes until back-to-back treys by Dickerson gave Northwestern a 25-14 advantage with just under four minutes remaining. The shots were dropping for the 'Cats as they shot 52 percent (12-of-23) from the field in the first half, while limiting Minnesota to just 30.8 percent and eight first-half buckets.
Northwestern parlayed its solid shooting effort to a 29-19 advantage at intermission. Cartwright connected on 4-of-6 from the field to lead the 'Cats with eight points while pulling down six rebounds.
The two teams traded triples to open the half and the hot shooting continued, as the squads combined for 16 points in the opening 3:19. Northwestern then exploded for eight unanswered points to build its largest lead of the game, a 16-point advantage, with 15 minutes remaining.
Both squads went cold over the next four-plus minutes, leaving the score locked at 42-30 in favor of the Wildcats. It was not until two free throws from Cartwright at the 10-minute mark that the tally changed. Minnesota took NU's cue to start scoring, knocking down a free throw and converting on a three-point play to pull the game to within 11 with 8:03 left.
The pace of the game picked up decidedly, and Minnesota went on a 5-0 run to cut NU's once double-digit lead to eight with five minutes remaining. A pair of free throws by Orban once again extended the Wildcat lead to double-figures.
A huge triple at the top of the key from Maggie Mocchi (Wheeling, Ill./Buffalo Grove) gave Northwestern a 56-43 cushion at the 3:33 mark. But Minnesota answered with a basket and a set of free-throws to pull to within seven with 2:14 remaining. But Mocchi once again had an answer, driving into the lane for a short pull-up jumper to once again give NU a 11-point advantage.
Minnesota cut the lead to five, 58-53, with :47 ticks on the clock, but the Gophers were forced to foul and Cartwright and Jaeschke converted on both of their trips to the line, preserving the 62-53 victory for NU.
Northwestern knocked down 16-of-18 from the free throw line and dominated on the boards, 36-27.
With one game down and two more to go this week, the Wildcats travel to Penn State Thursday for a 6 p.m. CT showdown with the Lady Lions. The game will be streamed live at www.bigtennetwork.com. Sunday, March 1 is Senior Day for Northwestern as it faces Iowa in a 2 p.m. contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
