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By Austin Siegel, Northwestern Correspondent

EVANSTON, Ill. – Nia Coffey scored 29 points and Ashley Deary came up with 10 steals as Northwestern coasted to a 103-44 exhibition victory over Seton Hill on Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
 
"We needed to play a game with referees and a full court," head coach Joe McKeown said. "I thought we did some good things. A little sloppy at times, but it gives us an idea of the things we need to work on."
 
The 'Cats got off to a hot start in their lone exhibition game of the year behind a strong performance from Coffey. The captain appears ready to make her junior year a memorable one, as she led Chicago's Big Ten Team with 29 points and 9 rebounds in the victory.
 
Northwestern will look to Coffey to be a leader on both ends of the court this season, as the Minneapolis native moved into seventh on the program's all-time blocks list in 2015, while scoring in double figures 31 times.
 
Sunday afternoon's exhibition also provided Wildcat fans with their first look this season at All-Big Ten guard Maggie Lyon.  The Wilmette, Ill. native put up 18 points and six rebounds to pace the Wildcats.
 
Lyon, who currently ranks third in program history with 189 three-point field goals made, hit two from beyond the arc against Seton Hill. She is already Northwestern's active leader in points, starts and minutes played.
 
"We all played really hard, [but] sometimes execution wasn't there defensively and offensively," Lyon said. "I think we still have a lot of things to work on. But I thought we moved the ball well and offensively pushed the ball well in transition."
 
Northwestern would go wire-to-wire against the Griffins, leading 46-17 at halftime and never looking back in a thoroughly dominating performance.  At halftime, the Wildcats were shooting 46 percent from the floor, while holding Seton Hill to just 13 percent.
 
Deary also turned in a strong performance, showcasing the quick hands that made her perhaps Northwestern's best defensive player last season. The junior came up with 10 steals against the Griffins.
 
"It has to do with being patient and just understanding that people have an inch before they do a move," Deary said. "So it's just about being patient and understanding that my teammates have my back if I make a mistake."
 
Jordan Hankins, Amber Jamison and Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpana also made their Northwestern debuts on Sunday, with all three freshmen managing to find the score sheet. Hankins lead all Wildcat debutants with 10 points against Seton Hill.
 
"Pallas is just really strong and can rebound," McKeown said. "Jordan Hankins is really an explosive player and kind of gives you an in-between of Deary and a [Christian] Inman. Kind of a combo player. And I think Amber Jamison in a quiet way is just really going to help us this year."
 
Chicago's Big Team will be back in action next Sunday against Howard for their season opener. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena. 
 

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