Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
13-3, 3-2
Iowa
13-3, 4-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 38 | 32 | 70 |
| Iowa | 41 | 42 | 83 |
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'Cats Can't Overcome Tough Shooting Night at Iowa
1/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Northwestern was unable to overcome a hot-shooting No. 22/21 Iowa team Wednesday as it fell at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, 83-70. The Hawkeyes shot better than 50 percent from the field, while the Wildcats were held below 35 percent.
Northwestern did its best to quiet the crowd at Carver-Hawkeye in the early going by methodically building a 16-9 lead after Maggie Lyon found Alex Cohen for an easy bucket with 12:48 to go in the opening half. Iowa responded with a 14-5 run that gave the Hawkeyes the lead back at 23-21 with 8:27 left in the opening period.
Iowa grew its lead to as many as eight points with a bit over three minutes to play in the first half before the Wildcats roared back. NU's Lauren Douglas scored nine points in the final 1:44 before Whitney Jennings threw up a prayer from in front of the 'Cats' bench to give Iowa a 41-38 lead at the half.
Northwestern, which shot the ball at a clip of only 32.2 percent form the field in the first half, continued to have trouble scoring in the second half. NU was held off the scoreboard for the first 5:31 of the second half and it made only two of its first 10 attempts as Iowa built a 62-44 lead with 11:58 to go in the game.
The Hawkeyes extended the lead to a game-high 20 points just 31 seconds later, but once again, the 'Cats clawed back. NU chipped away and finally sliced its deficit to single digits with a 10-point push that featured a couple of 3-pointers from Lyon and layups from both Nia Coffey and Cohen. Cohen's bucket made it 69-60 in favor of the home team, but unfortunately that was as close as the Wildcats would come Wednesday.
"It was a tough game," said Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown afterward, "We could never get the lead in the second half even though we fought really hard and had plenty of chances. Iowa made us pay at home and when they come back to Northwestern, we're going to have to defend a lot better."
Northwestern registered 18 offensive rebounds in the game with both teams pulling down 44 boards overall. NU held a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points, but as it turned out, Iowa did not need many second chances. The Black and Gold finished the night shooting 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the field, while the Purple and White converted at a mark of 34.7 percent (26-for-75). The 75 attempts were two shy of the most in the McKeown era (77 at Illinois - 1/9/11).
"We have to be a little bit more patient," McKeown added. "We have to let this game be a learning experience as we go forward to Michigan on Saturday."
NU did a strong job defending the perimeter as it allowed Iowa to shoot just 27.8 percent from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes entered the game ranked second in the country with a 3-point field-goal percentage of 40.5.
Cohen and Lyon each netted 16 points for the Wildcats, with the latter shooting .571 (4-of-7) from beyond the arc. Cohen, who ranks among the Big Ten leaders in field-goal percentage, shot .583 (7-of-12) at Iowa. Lyon, a Wilmette, Ill., native has made at least one 3-point shot in 21 consecutive games.
Coffey was able to register her team-best sixth double-double of the season Wednesday night behind 12 points and a game-high 15 rebounds, It is the 14th time she has accomplished a double-double during her tenure in Evanston.
Iowa's Bethany Doolittle had Northwestern's number through the contest. The senior center scored a career-high 29 points and added a team-high 12 rebounds in the win for her team.
The Wildcats will head back to Welsh-Ryan Arena for a late afternoon game on Saturday, January 17 against the Michigan Wolverines. The contest tips off at 5 p.m. and it will be shown live on the Big Ten Network. Northwestern alum Lisa Byington will handle play-by-play duties with Vera Jones providing analysis. Tickets are still available by calling 888-GO-PURPLE (467-8775) or visiting the tickets page on NUsports.com.
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