Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats, Badgers Meet Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena
1/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2014
| Game 18: Northwestern (11-6, 1-3 B1G) vs. Wisconsin (9-7, 2-2 B1G) |
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| Date | Saturday, Jan. 18 | 2 p.m. CT |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Buy Tickets | NUsports.com |
| Live Video | Big Ten Digital Network on Wildcats All-Access |
| Radio | WNUR (89.3 FM) |
| Live Tweets | @NU_SportsLIVE |
| Live Stats | Gametracker |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Facebook  |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern wraps up its busy stretch of three games in seven days on Saturday, when Wisconsin visits Welsh-Ryan Arena at 2 p.m. After playing on Sunday and Wednesday of this week, the Wildcats get back into a routine of Thursday/Sunday games for the next two weeks.
There will be FREE face painting for fans in attendance at Saturday's game and be sure to stick around after the game as the 'Cats will be signing autographs for all fans.
Here are some news and notes ahead of Saturday's game vs. the Badgers:
HOME SWEET HOME
Northwestern has had a great home court advantage so far this year, posting a 9-2 record at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NU is averaging 71.3 ppg at home while limiting its foes to just 62.2 points. Additionally, the Wildcats are shooting .428 from the field at home, limiting opponents to .340. Here's a look at NU's numbers at home compared to its overall stats:
| Home | Overall | |
| PPG: | 71.3 | 69.9 |
| Opponent PPG: | 62.2 | 63.6 |
| FG%: | .428 | .425 |
| Opponent FG% | .340 | .348 |
| Blocks: | 7.9 | 7.5 |
| Steals: | 10.5 | 9.5 |
| Assists: | 17.6 | 17.0 |
| TO Margin: | +5.0 | +2.7 |
DEARY MEASURES UP TO COMPETITION
Freshman point guard Ashley Deary is the shortest player on the Wildcats this year and is one of the shortest players in the Big Ten. Listed at 5-4, Deary, who was recently named to the 2014 Nancy Lieberman Award Watch List, and Nicole Bell of Indiana are the shortest players in the conference. Deary's height has not stopped her from putting up impressive numbers as NU's starter as she is averaging 6.9 assists per game. That figure is tied with Iowa's Samantha Logic who has 132 assists in 19 games while Deary has 118 assists in 17 contests.
Here's a look at where Deary stacks up height wise amongst the Big Ten assist leaders.
1. Samantha Logic – IOWA - 5-9 • 6.9 apg
2. Ashley Deary – NU - 5-4 • 6.9 apg
3. Kiana Johnson – MSU – 5-7 • 6.2 apg
4. Rachel Theriot – NEB – 6-0 • 6.1 apg
5. KK Houser – PUR – 5-6 • 5.1 apg
6. Dara Taylor – PSU – 5-8 • 4.4 apg
7. April Wilson – PUR – 5-7 • 4.2 apg
8. Shayne Mullaney – MINN – 5-10 • 4.1 apg
9. Larryn Brooks – IND – 5-5 • 4.1 apg
10. Shannon Smith – MICH – 5-7 • 3.7 apg
REBOUNDING LYON
Northwestern sophomore guard Maggie Lyon is known to score in bunches for the Wildcats, but this year, she has emerged as one of the top rebounders on the team. The 6-1 guard has made an effort to crash the boards this year as she is second on the team in rebounds, averaging 5.6 per game, which is an improvement upon her 4.0 average a year ago. On Wednesday vs. Illinois, Lyon tied for the team lead with seven rebounds.
Last year, Lyon had nine games, out of 25 played, with 5+ rebounds. This year, she already has 11 games of 5+ rebounds through 17 games played.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
2013-14 Record: 9-7, 2-2 B1G
All-Time Series Record: Series tied, 31-31; Northwestern won last meeting, 54-52 on Feb. 23, 2013 at Welsh-Ryan Arena
Notable: After scoring 43 second-half points, Wisconsin recorded the 65-60 win over Indiana Wednesday night in Madison. The Badgers also have an overtime win over Illinois and their two conference losses were at Michigan (70-62) and vs. Iowa (82-65). UConn transfer Michala Johnson is leading Wisconsin in scoring at 15.1 ppg while senior guards Morgan Paige and Taylor Wurtz are second and third on the team, averaging 13.7 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. Wurtz leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game. Wisconsin sophomore forward Shannon Malone is from Flower Mound, Texas, the same hometown as NU freshman guard Ashley Deary.
LAST TIME VS. WISCONSIN
Northwestern came out on top in a tight contest on Feb. 23, 2013 against the Badgers, 54-52. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 10 points but staged a second-half comeback that included six ties before Northwestern took over for good (53-52) after Maggie Lyon drained one of her three 3-pointers with 1:47 to play.
It was still a tight contest until the closing seconds. With NU up 54-52, Wisconsin had possession with 14 seconds left, but was unable to guard against a steal by Lyon, her third of the game. The NU freshman missed a layup and UW went the length of the court but missed a last-second shot to secure the NU victory.
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