Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin
'Cats Drop Heartbreaker To Wisconsin, 62-50
1/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 30, 2011
Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Wisconsin 62, Northwestern 50
Records: NU (14-8, 3-6 Big Ten), Wisconsin (12-9, 7-2 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: Feb. 3--vs. Illinois (Welsh-Ryan Arena), 7:30 p.m.
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Neither team allowed the other to get more than a two-possession lead until the 2:40 mark of the second half when Wisconsin pulled away to claim a 62-50 victory Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Senior Meshia Reed paced NU (14-8, 3-6) with 13 points while fellow classmate Beth Marshall added 12.
"It is just a physical game when you play Wisconsin," head coach Joe McKeown said after the game. "Their brand of basketball is to grind it out half court - lots of pushing a shoving - and we didn't do a very good job of handling that in the last five or six minutes of the game. That was the difference. They hit key shots when they had to, and they shot it well from three. It was a tough five-minute stretch for us at the end."
Northwestern opened the game hitting on all cylinders, as Marshall and Reed sunk back-to-back threes to push the Wildcats out to a 6-0 lead within the first two minutes. But several miscues by Northwestern allowed the Badgers to storm back, posting seven unanswered points to take a 7-6 lead five minutes into the action.
The Wildcats regained their footing and pulled ahead 11-7 but once again found Wisconsin's company with the score notched at 13 with 7:18 left in the half. The first half saw nine lead changes and three ties alone, but Wisconsin took a 28-25 lead into the break. Both teams excelled from long-range as the game saw 10 triples through in the first half and the two squads both shot north of 40 percent in the frame.
The Wildcats featured a balanced offensive attack, as all five starters contributed to the scoring column, led by Reed with eight points.
Northwestern outscored Wisconsin 9-5 through the first five minutes, and both teams caught fire, each scoring on three-consecutive possessions to make it 40 all with 12:18 on the clock. The game continued to be tight as neither team allowed the other to get more than a one-possession edge the rest of the way, until the 2:40 mark when a triple by Alyssa Karel gave Wisconsin a 54-48 lead.
The Badgers scored eight of the game's next 10 points, six of which came from the charity stripe to seal the victory.
Senior Amy Jaeschke, who added 10 points, recorded three blocks, which pushed her into the top 25 NCAA all-time career blocks list. The Wilmette, Ill., native now has 337 career blocks.
The Wildcats return to action at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 3 when they host Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
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