Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Face Penn State For First Time Thursday Evening
2/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern travels to Penn State for a 6 p.m. CT contest against the Lady Lions Thursday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center. The game is the second of three match-ups this week, as the 'Cats defeated Minnesota Monday night and will face Iowa Sunday at 2 p.m. for Senior Day, and the final regular-season contest of the 2008-09 campaign. Big Ten Tournament action commences on Thursday, March 5 at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with opening-round action tipping off at 11 a.m. CT.
Last Time Out ...
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 notched 14 points and collected a game-high eight rebounds while freshman Brittany Orban and sophomore Amy Jaeschke added 15 and 12 points, respectively. The win boosted NU into a tie for 10th place in the league standings, shared with Michigan. If the season were to end today, Northwestern would get the 10 seed in the conference tournament due to tie-breaking rules. The victory was the third Big Ten win for the 'Cats giving NU its highest conference win total since the 2002-03 season.
Promotions ...
Sunday's 2 p.m. contest against Iowa is Senior Day and the Wildcats will be honoring this year's senior class members Julie Bielawski (Rogers, Ark./Rogers), Erin Dickerson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and Ellen Jaeschke (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove)before the game. Additionally, in celebration of Northwestern Women's Athletics, the first 100 fans will receive a special shirt courtesy of the N Club.
Scouting Penn State
The 10-16, 5-11 Lady Lions enter Thursday's contest following their second road victory of the season, a 67-56 decision at Illinois. Penn State was on a three-game skid prior to that, dropping contests against Wisconsin and at home versus Iowa and Purdue. The Lady Lions are currently in eighth place in the conference standings, but are only one game behind seventh-place Wisconsin. Seniors Tyra Grant and Brianne O'Rourke are both averaging in double-figures for the Lady Lions, recording 19.8 and 10.8 per outing, respectively. Grant's average is second in the Big Ten only to Jantel Lavender's 20.6. Sophomore Julia Trogele leads the Lady Lions on the glass, grabbing 6.3 rpg, while Janessa Wolff is second with 6.1 per game. Penn State is led by second-year head coach Coquese Washington.
The Series against the Lady Lions
Penn State holds a 25-7 advantage in the all-time series between these two squads, which are meeting for the first and only time during the regular season. Northwestern has won two out of the last three meetings between the teams, most recently defeating the Lady Lions 70-58 last season on Senior Day at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Then-senior Nadia Bibbs tallied a team-high 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds. She also added four assists and two steals. Amy Jaeschke joined Bibbs in double-figures with 17 points, nine of which came in the second half. Meshia Reed nearly recorded a double-double, contributing nine points and 10 rebounds in the victory.
Crashing the Boards
Northwestern has out-rebounded its opponents in four out of the last five games and in five out of the last seven. Amy Jaeschke leads the way with 8.4 rpg, which ranks seventh in the league, while Kristin Cartwright is second with 4.4 per outing. The junior led the 'Cats Monday night against Minnesota with eight boards. As a team, NU is averaging 33.8 rebounds a game.
Freshmen Lead The Way
Maggie Mocchi and Brittany Orban have answered head coach Joe McKeown's plea to be a difference-maker. The two freshmen have not only led Northwestern offensively in the past three games, but they have done it in career fashion. Mocchi scored a personal-best 19 points against Indiana last Thursday evening while Orban poured in a career-high 25 points at No. 18 Ohio State on Sunday, Feb. 15. She followed that effort with a 15-point, seven-rebound performance against Minnesota on Monday evening. The two have combined to lead the 'Cats in scoring six times this season.
Orban, Cartwright Shine In Last Three Games
Freshman Brittany Orban and junior Kristin Cartwright have led the team in scoring over the last three contests, averaging 17.7 and 10.3 ppg, respectively. Orban has connected on an outstanding 23-of-27 from the free-throw line during that time, while Cartwright is a perfect 8-of-8. Orban is also 4-of-7 from beyond the arc while Cartwright leads the team with four steals. The pair is averaging 5.7 rpg in the last three contests and have combined for just 11 turnovers.
Triple Your Fun!
With Brittany Orban, Kristin Cartwright and Amy Jaeschke all scoring in double figures against Minnesota Monday evening, Northwestern has now had three or more players notch double figures in 15 games this season.
For complete game notes, please click on the PDF above.
