Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Wraps Road Trip at Penn State Sunday
1/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| rv/rv Northwestern (14-4, 4-3 B1G) at Penn State (4-15, 1-7 B1G) |
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| Date | Sunday, Jan. 25 | 1:00 p.m. CST |
| Location | Bryce Jordan Center | University Park, Pa. |
| Watch Live | Big Ten Network and BTN2GO |
| Listen Live | WNUR - 89.3 FM |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @nuwbball  | Northwestern Women's Basketball  | @NUCATS_WBB  |
| Game Notes (PDF) |
Northwestern | Penn State |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern finishes its week away from home Sunday with its only meeting of the regular season against the Penn State Lady Lions at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. EST/1 p.m. CST.
SHOOTING FOR A MILESTONE
Northwestern's Maggie Lyon enters Sunday only three 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 the latter was named the Big Ten Freshman of Year.
SHARING IS CARING
Northwestern leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the NCAA with 17.7 assists per game this season. Point guard Ashley Deary ranks third in the conference with 5.3 helpers per game and she ranks second with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.1. The sophomore has upped those numbers to 6.3 apg with a ratio of 2.9 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). Last time out against Illinois, NU shared it at a clip of 73.9 percent (17-of-23).
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 18 games this season. That group has opened the last 22 consecutive games together and 45 of 51 contests since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
START FAST, FINISH STRONG
Northwestern has won 14 of its first 18 games, in large part, by jumping ahead early. The Wildcats have scored 619 first-half points this season, an average of 36.4 per game. The 'Cats have scored 40 points or more in the first half six times, most recently against Michigan State on Jan. 11 (44). On the other side, opponents are averaging just 25.4 points during the first 20 minutes this season, while turning the ball over an average of 10.9 times during the first period alone. Five times this season the opposition has committed at least 15 turnovers in the first half, most recently against Wisconsin at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 1 (17).
WHO NEEDS HOME COOKING?
Northwestern has won equal games at home and on the road (7), however its offensive numbers are up across the board in games on the road or at neutral sites. The Wildcats are averaging 10 more points per game as the visiting team, while shooting 11 points higher from the field, 26 points higher from beyond the arc and 61 points higher from the free-throw line. Both of Northwestern's top-25 wins this season, against No. 18/18 DePaul and No. 20/22 Michigan State came on the road.
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES
Northwestern's trio of sophomores in the starting lineup has showed no sign of slowing down in its second season. Nia Coffey is the team's top scorer at 14.7 points per game, while Christen Inman and Ashley Deary are close behind with 10.8 and 8.7 ppg, respectively. Coffey also leads the way on the boards with 8.3 rpg, while Deary ranks fifth in the entire country with 3.4 steals per game. The group has already combined for 149 career starts.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Overall Record: 4-15, 1-7 Big Ten
All-Time Series Record: PSU leads, 33-7
Notable: The Lady Lions snapped an eight-game slide and picked up their first Big Ten win of the season on Thursday with a 79-75 victory over Indiana at the Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State has won three consecutive Big Ten championships under head coach Coquese Washington, however it lost four starters off last season's squad that reached the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. Redshirt freshman Lindsay Spann is PSU's leading scorer with 15.1 points per game, while Kaliyah Mitchell is the top rebounder with 6.7 per game.
More notes and information are available for both teams in the Game Notes PDF packages linked at the top of the page.
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