'Cats Stave Off Wolfpack; Earn 76-59 Triumph

11/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Nov. 30, 2011

Box Score | |

Site: Evanston, Ill. (Welsh-Ryan Arena)
Score: Northwestern 76, NC State 59
Records: NU (5-1, 0-0 Big Ten), NC State (4-2, 0-0 ACC)
Next NU Event: Saturday, Dec. 3 -- at Missouri (Columbia, Mo.), 4 p.m. CT

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After building a sizeable 15-point lead with just over 10 minutes to play, Northwestern staved off a tenacious comeback attempt and ultimately defeated North Carolina State, 76-59, in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge Wednesday in Evanston. Freshman Morgan Jones put together her first career double-double with a season-high 27 points -- including 19 in the second half -- and 11 boards.

Jones wasn't the only Wildcat freshman to assemble a double-double as point guard Karly Roser dished out 10 assists to go along with 10 points, her second double-double of the young season.

"It was a sloppy hard fought physical game and I was just proud of the way we handled that," head coach Joe McKeown said. "I thought our defense really stepped up when NC State made that run midway through the second half and I thought our bench was really important tonight, too. It was a hard-fought win and a l learning experience.

Both teams sized each other up in the opening five minutes, matching each basket until Northwestern composed a 9-2 run over a four-minute span to establish a 17-8 lead at the 11:32 mark. A pair of NU miscues led to two NC State buckets, pulling the score to 17-12 two minutes later. The Wildcats immediately responded with a scoring barrage, which, when it was over set the score at 33-17 with 4:43 remaining in the half. Northwestern used four three-pointers, coming from Dannielle Diamant, Kendall Hackney and Morgan Jones, who had a pair.

Watch Game Highlights

The Wildcats took a 35-22 lead into the locker room, with Morgan Jones pacing NU with eight points and four rebounds. Northwestern held N.C. State to just a 22 percent first-half shooting effort, while shooting 46 percent itself, including 4-of-9 from deep.

NC State opened the second half on a 7-0 run, holding Northwestern scoreless in the first four minutes of action. But Morgan Jones found her stroke, draining back-to-back threes on two-straight possessions to spark a 15-9 Wildcat spurt and give the home team a 50-35 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining.

The Wolfpack responded by running off seven-straight points coming out of the under-12 media timeout to cut NU's lead to single-digits, 50-42, midway through the second half. NC State continued its run, ultimately a 12-0 spurt, to made it a one-possession affair, but a clutch three-pointer as the shot clock ran down from Meghan McKeown pushed NU ahead by six with 8:34 remaining.

The game turned chippy down the stretch but the Wildcats extended their lead to double-digits, 61-51, once again on a pair of free throws with just under five minutes remaining. NU handled the Wolfpack press in the waning minutes, getting two fastbreak lay-ups from Hackney in the final two-and-a-half minutes. For the game, Northwestern outscored North Carolina State 16-4 in fastbreak situations. The Wildcats connected on 12-of-16 free-throws in the final five minutes to seal the victory.

Northwestern is next in action at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, when it travels to Columbia, Mo. for a showdown with Missouri. The contest is part of the second-annual Big Ten/Big XII Challenge.

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