Northwestern University Athletics
Super Sunday Features Wildcats, No. 12/13 Lady Lions
1/31/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 31, 2014
| Game 22: Northwestern (14-7, 4-4 B1G) vs. No. 12/13 Penn State (16-4, 7-1 B1G) |
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| Date | Sunday, Feb. 2 | 1 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. -- Winners of back-to-back Big Ten contests, Northwestern hosts the conference leaders, No. 12/13 Penn State Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Sunday's game will be the seventh this year featuring a ranked opponent for Northwestern.
Tip is set for 1 p.m. CT. There will be a shuttle service running for Northwestern students, beginning at noon. Shuttle pickup locations can be found with this link.
SUNDAY'S PROMOTIONS
Sunday is Scout Day at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts (8th grade and under) to its annual Scout Day. All pre-registered Scouts can sign up to receive a game ticket, Northwestern basketball t-shirt, Northwestern Scout Badge, lunch and pregame clinic. For more information, or to sign up, email wildcatmarketing@northwestern.edu or click here to download the Scout Day flyer.
The women's basketball team will also be available for autographs after the game.
There also will be a Willie's Kids' Club event prior to Sunday's game at 11:30 a.m.! Kids' Club members will take a tour of the football facilities, enjoy lunch with some student-athletes, form a high five tunnel at the women's basketball game and get autographs from the players after the game.
Tickets are FREE for Willie's Kids' Club members and $3 for accompanying friends and family. You must show your membership card to receive the discount. To RSVP, email wildcatmarketing@northwestern.edu or call 847-467-3758. RSVP is required for this event.
LAST TIME OUT
It was another close Big Ten battle Thursday night between the Wildcats and Hoosiers with Northwestern prevailing 58-52 down the stretch. With nine ties and nine lead changes, the Wildcats drained their free throws in the closing minutes to improve to 14-7 on the year, 4-4 in the Big Ten and are now winners in back-to-back Big Ten contests.
Lauren Douglas led NU with 16 points off the bench while Maggie Lyon made some clutch shots late in the game to finish with 14. Ashley Deary also added 12 points and seven rebounds while Alex Cohen had a game-high 10 rebounds and four blocks.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Northwestern is 11-2 in games played at Welsh-Ryan Arena this year, which is one of the best home records in the Big Ten (Nebraska has best home mark at 12-2). The Wildcats have won five of their last six games at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the lone loss coming by just two points against Illinois. Here's a look at NU's numbers in home games this year, compared to its overall stats:
Home Games PPG: 70.8
Overall PPG: 69.0
Home Games Opponent PPG: 61.6
Overall Opponent PPG: 63.9
Home Games FG%: .431
Overall FG%: .422
Home Games Opp. FG%: .345
Overall Opp. FG%: .352
Home Games 3-FG%: .351
Overall Opp. 3-FG%: .326
Home Games TO Margin: +5.3
Overall TO Margin: +2.8
VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
Northwestern has three wins over ranked opponents this year, which is the largest total for an NU squad during the Joe McKeown era. NU faces No. 12/13 Penn State Sunday, which will be the highest-ranked team on the Wildcats' schedule so far this year. Here's the list of NU's wins over ranked opponents during the McKeown era:
2013-14
Dec. 1, 2013 • vs. No. 25/25 DePaul • W, 82-79
Jan. 9, 2014 • vs. No. 21/20 Purdue • W, 71-68
Jan. 26, 2014 • vs. No. 21/18 Nebraska • W, 63-59
2012-13
Feb. 3, 2013 • at No. 24/25 Iowa • W, 67-65
2011-12
Nov. 22, 2011 • at No. 20/23 LSU • W, 44-43
Feb. 16, 2012 • at No. 16/21 Nebraska • W, 63-51
2010-11
Jan. 13, 2011 • vs. No. 24/24 Ohio State • W, 64-53
Feb. 6, 2011 • at Ohio State (rv/rv) • W, 74-68
2009-10
Nov. 24, 2009 • vs. No. 15/21 DePaul • W, 59-55
SHUT IT DOWN
Northwestern has done a good job of shutting down opposing teams' top play makers recently. Against Nebraska (1/26), Jordan Hooper entered the game as one of the top scorers and rebounders in the conference and the Wildcats limited the All-American to 11 points (all of which came in the first half) and eight rebounds. Hooper is currently averaging 19.4 ppg and 9.9 rpg.
At Indiana, the Wildcats defended Larryn Brooks well, limiting the freshman high-scorer to just seven points on 3-of-16 from the field and 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Brooks currently ranks fifth in the conference with 16.9 ppg.
ROSER RETURNS
Junior point guard Karly Roser made her first appearance of the 2013-14 season Thursday at Indiana. The 2013 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honoree had missed the previous 20 games of the season with an injury but returned against the Hoosiers and logged five minutes off the bench. Roser had started every game her freshman and sophomore seasons.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
2013-14 Record: 16-4, 7-1 B1G
All-Time Series Record: Penn State leads 31-7; PSU won last meeting, 73-69 on Jan. 3, 2013 in University Park, Pa.
Notable: Penn State enters Sunday's game as the Big Ten leaders with a 7-1 conference record. The Lady Lions are coming off a 75-72 win at Purdue on Thursday night, avenging their lone conference loss, which came on Jan. 12 at home vs. the Boilermakers. Senior guard Maggie Lucas ranks second in the conference in scoring with 21.1 ppg and is the Big Ten leader in free throw percentage at .967. Senior guard Dara Taylor leads the Big Ten with 3.0 steals per game and is sixth in assists with 4.8 per game.
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