Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Visits Champaign Thursday to Face Illinois
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| rv/rv Northwestern (13-4, 3-3 B1G) at Illinois (11-7, 2-4 B1G) |
|
| Date | Thursday, Jan. 22 | 7:00 p.m. CST |
| Location | State Farm Center | Champaign, Ill. |
| Watch Live | Big Ten Network and BTN2GO |
| Listen Live | WNUR - 89.3 FM |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Interviews | | |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Northwestern Women's Basketball  | @NUCATS_WBB  |
| Game Notes (PDF) |
Northwestern | Illinois |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will look to jump back into the column on Thursday night when it travels south down Interstate 57 to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini in a Big Ten clash at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.
SHARING IS CARING
Northwestern leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the NCAA with 17.8 assists per game this season. Point guard Ashley Deary ranks third in the conference with 5.4 helpers per game and she ranks second with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.1. The sophomore has upped those numbers to 6.5 apg with a ratio of 3.3 in conference play. As a team, NU accumulated assists on 77.4 percent (24-of-31) of its made field goals at home against Michigan State on Jan. 11. The high mark this season came on Dec. 7 against Loyola when the Wildcats recorded 22 assists on 28 baskets (78.5 percent).
CONSISTENT 'CATS
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown has used the same starting lineup, consisting of Alex Cohen, Nia Coffey, Maggie Lyon, Christen Inman and Ashley Deary, in all 17 games this season. That group has opened the last 21 consecutive games together and 44 of 50 contests since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
WHO NEEDS HOME COOKING?
Northwestern has won one more game at home than it has on the road, however its numbers are up across the board in games on the road or at neutral sites. The Wildcats are averaging 12.7 more points per game as the visiting team while shooting 21 points higher from the field, 33 points higher from beyond the arc and 55 points higher from the free-throw line. The 'Cats have a better turnover margin (+5.4 to +3.9), more steals (12.2 to 10.9) and more assists (18.0 to 17.5) outside of Welsh-Ryan Arena this season. Both of Northwestern's top-25 wins this season, against No. 18/18 DePaul and No. 20/22 Michigan State came on the road.
SHOOTING FOR A MILESTONE
Northwestern's Maggie Lyon enters the week 17 points shy of reaching 1,000 for her career. The junior has been the leading scorer for the Wildcats during conference play this season with 14.0 points per game. The last NU player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark was Kendall Hackney who accomplished the feat on Jan. 26, 2012 at Purdue. Hackney is the program's ninth all-time leading scorer with 1,547 points. Hackney and Lyon were teammates during the 2012-13 season when Lyon was named the Big Ten Freshman of Year.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Overall Record: 11-7, 2-4 Big Ten
All-Time Series Record: NU leads, 35-34
Notable: The Fightiing Illini return to the State Farm Center on Thursday to break up a stretch when they play four of five games on the road. Illinois is also looking to snap a three-game losing skid, with its last win an impressive one against No. 17 Iowa on January 8. Head coach Matt Bollant's squad leads the Big Ten and ranks 25th nationally in turnover margin (+5.61). The Illini also lead the Big Ten in turnovers forced (22.3 pg). Illinois has a pair of players averaging more than 15 points per game in senior Ivory Crawford (15.9 ppg) and freshman Chatrice White (15.1 ppg). White also leads the way on the glass with 6.7 rebounds per game.
QUICKLY NOTED
Maggie Lyon has made at least one 3-pointer in 22 consecutive games dating back to 3/2/14. The junior is the team's active leading scorer with 983 points ... Nia Coffey scored in double figures in 21 straight games before being limited to six against Michigan. That marked the seventh-longest streak in program history ... Alex Cohen played in her 100th career game against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 20 ... Northwestern is 5-0 against in-state opponents this season ... Since winning at DePaul on Nov. 29, the Wildcats have had only eight ties and 17 lead changes in 12 games. The game against the 18th-ranked Blue Demons saw 13 ties and 23 lead changes alone.
More notes and information are available for both teams in the Game Notes PDF packages linked at the top of the page.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
