Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday Matinee at Welsh-Ryan Arena Features 'Cats and Jaguars
12/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2013
| Game 11: Northwestern (8-2) vs. IUPUI (8-4) |
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| Date | Saturday, Dec. 21 | Noon CT |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Buy Tickets | NUsports.com |
| Live Tweets | @NU_SportsLIVE |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Facebook  |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Saturday, the Wildcats welcome first-time foe IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) to Welsh-Ryan Arena for the final nonconference home game of the year. Tip-off is set for noon.
After Saturday, NU has a bit of a break for the holidays before leaving the state of Illinois for just the second time during the nonconference season, traveling to New Orleans for the Tulane/DoubleTree Classic. NU will face Indiana State on Sat., Dec. 28 and then either Tulane or Northeastern on Dec. 29 to wrap up the nonconference schedule. The year 2014 then begins in Lincoln, Neb., as the Wildcats open the 2014 Big Ten slate at Nebraska on Thurs., Jan. 2. Mark your calendars for Mon., Jan. 6 as that is NU's Big Ten home opener against in-state rival, Illinois.
IN THE LAST TWO GAMES...
Northwestern has won its last two games and has done so in convincing fashion with a 90-57 win at Loyola and 84-54 victory vs. Oral Roberts. Here's a few notables from the last two games:
• NU is winning by an average of 31.5 ppg while averaging 87.0 ppg.
• NU has 23 3-pointers in the last two games, including a program record of 13 against Loyola. The Wildcats followed that up with 10 more from long-distance vs. Oral Roberts.
• Four Wildcats are averaging double-figures in the last two games, including a team-best of 16.5 ppg for Maggie Lyon, who has nine of the team's 23 3-pointers.
• Christen Inman is averaging 15.5 ppg in the last two.
• NU is shooting .488 from the field and an impressive .523 from long-distance.
• NU has 48 assists on 61 field goals.
DEARY STEALS THE SHOW
Freshman guard Ashley Deary had a career-best six steals Monday vs. Oral Roberts. That figure is tied for ninth in NU single-game history and is tied for the most steals by a player in the Joe McKeown era. Deary ranks second in the Big Ten with 2.7 steals per game, just behind conference leader, Dara Taylor of PSU who has 2.8 steals per game.
Additionally, Deary ranks second in the conference in assists, averaging 6.3 dimes per game. She is narrowly behind the conference assist leader, junior Samantha Logic of Iowa (6.5 apg).
WHERE THEY RANK
Northwestern is one of the best blocking teams in the country (7.0 bpg), ranking third in NCAA Division I behind top-ranked Connecticut (8.8 bpg) and second-place Alabama State (7.2 bpg). Here's a look at where NU ranks in a few statistical categories:
Team:
Blocks: 3rd (7.0 bpg)
FG% Defense: 23rd (.337)
TO Margin: 36th (+4.4)
Assists: 47th (16.6 apg)
Steals: 69th (9.8 spg)
Individual:
Assists: Ashley Deary: 20th (6.3 apg)
Blocks: Nia Coffey: 24th (2.67 bpg)
Blocks: Alex Cohen: 77th (1.67 bpg)
Steals: Ashley Deary: 94th (2.33 spg)
-NCAA stats and rankings as of Dec. 15 and do not include NU's game vs. Oral Roberts
SCOUTING IUPUI
2013-14 Record: 8-4
2012-13 Record: 20-12; WNIT First Round
All-Time Series Record: First Meeting
Notable: IUPUI is coming off an 86-63 win over Northern Kentucky Wednesday night at home. The Jaguars have already played two other Big Ten teams so far this year, falling 76-56 at home vs. Purdue and also dropped a 51-45 game at home against Indiana. IUPUI returns three starters and six letterwinners off last year's squad that finished second in The Summit League with a 20-12 overall record and 12-4 mark in conference play. This year, DeAirra Goss leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 ppg and Nevena Markovic also averages double figures at 10.1 ppg.
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