'Cats Outplay UW-Platteville In Exhibition, 85-30

10/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Oct. 31, 2010

UW-Platteville Boxscore

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern used a 60 percent shooting effort to post 48 first-half points and never looked back, defeating UW-Platteville, 85-30, in exhibition action Sunday afternoon. Junior Brittany Orban paced NU with 22 points, five rebounds and two assists in just 26 minutes of action. Three other 'Cats joined Orban in double-figures as Amy Jaeschke contributed 17 points while Kendall Hackney and Meshia Reed added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

"Today was good because we got to play against different people than we see everyday in practice," head coach Joe McKeown said after the game. "Getting the jitters out, getting that under your belt is something you have to do and I thought we did a nice job."

Northwestern controlled the game from the outset, pouring in 20 points before allowing the Pioneers to even get on the board at the 12:29 mark. Orban set the tone in those opening minutes, leading the way with eight points.

The Wildcats capitalized on the height mismatch--Platteville's tallest player was five inches shorter than NU's 6-5 Jaeschke--scoring 58 of their 85 points in the paint. Jaeschke, a preseason All-Big Ten selection, proved to be accurate in the post, going 7-of-12 from the field and swatting four shots in just 26 minutes.

Northwestern's defense turned out to be a boon for the offense, as it forced 21 Pioneer miscues that translated into 38 points. Junior Ali Mocchi recorded a team-high four steals as did Reed and Hackney. Mocchi performed well all-around, pulling down a team-best 10 rebounds and dishing out six assists.

Northwestern debuts the season at home against Dartmouth at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 12. Other premier nonconference match-ups in Evanston include a showdown against LSU on Sun., Nov. 14 and the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge against Missouri on Sun., Dec. 5. Ticket packages for the 2010-11 season of Northwestern Women's Basketball are on sale now. To order tickets call 888-GO-PURPLE.

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