Northwestern
Northern Illinois
Wildcats Hold Off Huskies, 68-59
12/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2010
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 68, Northern Illinois 59
Records: NU (9-2, 0-0 Big Ten), Northern Illinois (5-5, 0-0 MAC)
Next NU Event: Sunday--vs. Northern Arizona (Evanston, Ill.), 1 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After breaking out of the gates with a sizeable first-half lead, Northwestern staved off a scrappy Northern Illinois squad to win, 68-59, in front of 3,584 fans on Field Trip Day Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Senior center Amy Jaeschke paced the Wildcat attack with 33 points, her third game of 30 or more points this season.
"The crowd really helped us today," head coach Joe McKeown said after the game. "It was an exciting environment and our young fan base showed up in droves. Playing DePaul Monday and then turning around and playing NIU at noon took a physical toll, but give Northern credit, they played extremely well. It was good to grit this one out and move forward."
Northwestern established a 12-6 lead behind seven points from Jaeschke, but a trio of turnovers allowed Northern Illinois to run off six unanswered points and pull the score even at 12 a piece with 11:15 remaining.
Despite the Wildcats' distinct height advantage down low -- Northern Illinois does not have a player north of 6 feet tall -- NU used its perimeter game to go on a 10-2 run courtesy of a pair of triples from Kendall Hackney and Brittany Orban to take a 22-14 lead with 8:29 left.
Less than a minute later, Jaeschke and Hackney combined to fuel an 8-2 Wildcat run, giving NU its largest lead of the game -- a 14-point cushion -- with 5:09 on the clock. Northern Illinois came alive and closed the half by scoring nine of the game's next 11 points to set the score at 32-25 at intermission.
Jaeschke led all scorers with 13 points while Hackney added 12. Allison Mocchi led all players with five rebounds.
The Huskies opened the second frame on a 7-2 run en route to outscoring Northwestern 16-8 through the first eight minutes to take their first lead since the opening minutes of the contest. NIU used a 50 percent shooting effort while restricting the 'Cats to just three field goals.
The Huskies found themselves up four, 46-42 at the 9:21 point but the 'Cats orchestrated a six-point swing to take a two-point lead on a three pointer from the corner by Orban. NIU's Marke Freeman responded with a triple of her own, but a pair of free throws by Jaeschke gave NU the lead--this time for good--50-49 with 5:40 left.
The Wildcats outscored Northern 17-9 over the remaining five minutes to secure their ninth victory of the season.
The Wildcats played to their strengths, assisting on 20 of their 25 field goals and reaching the line 23 times. NU's defense finished forced 21 NIU turnovers and the 'Cats tied their season-high with 10 blocks.
Jaeschke finished with 33 points, seven rebounds, eight blocks and four assists to pace NU.
Northwestern returns to action at 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19 when it hosts Northern Arizona at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
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