Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Begin Four-Game Trip at UNLV Wednesday
12/16/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| (rv/rv) Northwestern (8-0) at UNLV (3-6) |
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| Date | Wednesday, Dec. 17 | 6:00 p.m. CT |
| Location | Thomas & Mack Center | Las Vegas, Nev. |
| Watch Live | Mountain West Network |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Facebook  | @NUWILDCATS_WBB  |
| Game Notes (PDF) |
Northwestern | UNLV |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern begins its longest road trip of the season Wednesday, a four-game road journey that begins with a dual in the desert at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas against the UNLV Rebels.
ALONE ON TOP
After nationally-ranked Nebraska fell on a buzzer-beater at Alabama on Dec. 7, Northwestern was left as the lone undefeated team in the Big Ten. Four teams, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska and Rutgers, have just one loss on their record to date. The 'Cats are 8-0 and have their best start to a season under head coach Joe McKeown, and the best overall since 1995-96. The Wildcats won nine straight to open the 1995-96 season , while the program record for the longest season-opening win streak came in 1976-77 when Northwestern won its first 12 contests before falling to Michigan State on Feb. 12, 1977.
MINUTEWOMEN
Northwestern's five starters - Alex Cohen, Nia Coffey, Maggie Lyon, Christen Inman and Ashley Deary - plus super-subs Lauren Douglas and Karly Roser have combined to play 1,483 of 1,650 possible minutes this season (90 percent). All five starters have played at least 203 minutes, while Lyon has played the most thus far at 254 (31.8 per game). During NU's double-overtime win against DePaul, the durable junior played 49 of a possible 50 minutes.
PAINT PATROL
In the last three games, Northwestern has outscored the opposition by an average of 21.4 (36.7-15.3) points per game in the paint. The Wildcats are averaging 35.3 points inside this season and they have outscored the opponent in that area in seven of eight games (NU and Kent State tied). The 'Cats scored a season-high 50 points in the paint at 18th-ranked DePaul on Nov. 29.
CATCH `EM IF YOU CAN
Northwestern has done a good deal of damage in transition this month scoring an average of 18.7 points per game on the fast break. On the other side of the floor, the Wildcats have limited Virginia Tech, Loyola and Gonzaga to only two fast break points per game. NU's highest output, 26 points, came in a 25-point victory at Virginia Tech in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 4. Chicago's Big Ten Team outscored Gonzaga, 18-0, in fast break points last time out in Dec. 15.
DEFENSIVE DANDIES
Statistically speaking, the Wildcats have been arguably one of the top defensive teams in the NCAA this season. Northwestern leads the 14-team Big Ten Conference and ranks second in the NCAA in field-goal percentage defense (30.4) and fifth in the country in scoring defense (48.8 ppg). NU also leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation in blocks (6.8 bpg) and ranks 12th in the NCAA steals (13.1 spg). Individually, Ashley Deary is the NCAA leader with 4.5 steals per game and three #B1GCats average 1.5 blocks per game or higher (Nia Coffey - 2.1; Lauren Douglas - 1.6; Alex Cohen - 1.5).
SCOUTING UNLV
Overall Record: 3-6
All-Time Series Record: NU leads, 2-1
Notable: After opening the season with back-to-back wins, the Rebels have dropped six of their last seven contests, including the last four. Senior guard Danielle Miller has been filling it up during her final season, averaging 19.1 points per game while shooting 45.5 percent from beyond the arc. Miller's classmate, Alana Cesarz, is the team's second-leading scorer with 16.9 points per game and the leading rebounder with 7.6 per contest. Miller was limited to 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting when Northwestern and UNLV met in Evanston last season, while Cesarz had four points and six rebounds.
UP NEXT
Northwestern continues its swing with a trip to Tempe, Ariz. for the ASU Classic this weekend. The Wildcats will play Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Dec. 20 at approximately 4:30 p.m. CT before facing either Lehigh or host Arizona State on Sunday, Dec. 21. Sunday's time and opponent depends upon the results of Saturday's games.
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