Northwestern
Missouri
'Cats Claw Past Tigers, 79-68
12/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2010
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Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 79, Missouri 68
Records: NU (7-1, 0-0 Big Ten), Missouri (3-4, 0-0 Big 12)
Next NU Event: Dec. 11-- vs. Central Michigan (Evanston, Ill.), 2 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Amy Jaeschke dumped in 25 points and Northwestern converted 25-of-29 from the charity stripe as the 'Cats disposed of Missouri, 79-68, Sunday afternoon as part of the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge. Beth Marshall, who swished her 100th career three-pointer, contributed 18 points while Brittany Orban added 17 as the Wildcats improve to 7-1 on the year.
Sunday also was Autism Awareness Day at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Pictures from the event can be accessed by clicking on the photo gallery above.
"I want to thank the people from Autism Speaks in the Chicago Area for their involvement in today's game and thank Missouri for supporting this," head coach Joe McKeown said. "As far as the game, Missouri was coming off a couple big wins, so we knew we were going to have our hands full. Their guard play was terrific and we finally got a hold of their inside game. It was a terrific game."
After a flurry of scoring -- the two teams combined to go 11-of-20 in the first six minutes -- both offenses took a siesta for three minutes before Northwestern woke up and found the bucket. The 'Cats composed a 13-0 run, capped off by a three in transition by Marshall, to spring ahead 21-13 midway through the first half.
Christine Flores spearheaded a mini-run for the Tigers, single-handedly running off seven points to draw Missouri to within a possession, 23-20. But another three from Marshall -- the 100th of her career -- and a pair of free throws from Jaeschke once again inflated the lead to eight at the 4:36.
Missouri cut NU's advantage to three with a minute remaining, but a triple by Orban with 34 seconds left set the halftime tally at 37-31 in NU's favor. Jaeschke dominated down low, turning in 14 of NU's 20 points in the paint while adding seven rebounds and three blocks.
Coming out of the break, Kendall Hackney and Marshall executed back-to-back three-point plays to grow the 'Cats' lead to 12, their largest lead, at the time, with 15:51 remaining. Two-straight triples by Missouri slashed the Wildcat lead to eight, 51-43, but Orban, who hit two threes on the afternoon, came back with a trey of her own to once again secure a double-digit lead for Northwestern. The Wildcats held a hot hand through the first eight minutes, hitting 63 percent from the field.
Every time the Tigers would cut the lead to single-digits, Northwestern responded immediately with a field goal or a successful trip to the free-throw line. NU reached the bonus early in the second half, going 16-of-20 from the charity stripe in that stanza alone and shot 83 percent on the afternoon.
Missouri cut Northwestern's lead to six -- the narrowest difference of the second half -- with 2:13 remaining, but the Wildcats' senior leadership came through. Jaeschke stepped up and scored three-straight points, thanks to a Mizzou foul, and Marshall went 4-of-4 at the line down the stretch to anchor the seventh victory of the season.
Northwestern receives a much deserved six-day break before it takes on Central Michigan on Sat., Dec. 11. Tip is set for 2 p.m. from Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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