Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, December 31
University Park, Pa.
1 p.m.
Northwestern
at
Penn State
No. 14 #B1GCats Open Conference Slate at Penn State
12/30/2015 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| NO. 14 NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | WATCH | LIVE STATS | |
| Thursday, Dec. 31 | Penn State | 1 p.m. CST | Bryce Jordan Center (University Park, Pa.) | BTNPlus | GameTracker | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUWBBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUWBBall) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Penn State | ||||||
EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 12 Wildcats (11-1, 0-0 B1G) tip off Big Ten play against Penn State on New Year's Eve. Game time is set for 1 p.m. CST and will be streamed live on BTNPlus on BTN2Go. Northwestern's Big Ten opener marks the 42nd meeting between the two squads.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
Overall Record: 5-6, 0-0 Big Ten
All-Time Series Record: PSU leads 34-7
Notables
• Sophomore Lindsey Spann posted her second 20-point game of the season vs. Sacred Heart with 23 points. She is averaging 18.0 points and 2.8 assists over her last five games.
• Penn State has four players averaging in double figures over the last five games, including 18.0 points from Spann and 13.6 points from senior Brianna Banks.
• Freshman Teniya Page continues to lead the team in assists (4.3 apg) and ranks No. 6 in the Big Ten in assist/turnover ratio (2.18).
• Four Lady Lions have eclipsed the 10-point mark in seven games - including one game with five players scoring 10-plus points.
• PSU finished last in the Big Ten last season with a 6-24 overall record and a 3-15 mark in league play.
STRONG START
The Wildcats won 10-straight games to open the season for the second-straight year. NU was one of just two Big Ten teams to open the season with 10-consecutive wins before dropping its first game of the year against No. 16 DePaul on Dec. 19. Northwestern closed out its non-conference slate with an 11-1 mark for the best start to a season under head coach Joe McKeown.
WILDCATS IN THE POLLS
Northwestern women's basketball tipped off the 2015-16 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll. The 'Cats have been ranked for eight-straight weeks to start the season and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll. It marked the highest rankings since the 1991-92 season when the 'Cats were touted as high as 11. NU enters Big Ten play ranked No. 14 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
COFFEY ROLLS ALONG
Nia Coffey tallied her 1,000th-career point in the 'Cats season-opening win over Howard. The junior became the second active Wildcat to accomplish the feat, and joined eight other players in the Big Ten's 1,000-point club.
The junior was named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Big Ten team, and was named First-Team All-Big Ten in 2015. Coffey scored in double figures in 31 contests during the 2014-15 season and poured in 20-plus points on seven occasions. Coffey was one of just two Big Ten Players to rank among the league's top 10 in points (15.2 ppg), rebounds (9.7 rpg) and blocks (1.8 bpg), while recording a team-best 14 double-doubles on the year.
This year, Coffey was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor. She was also named to the The Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List.
So far this year, the junior had recorded five 20+ point performances, including a season-high 27 points in the 'Cats home opener against Howard. Coffey has scored in double figures in 27-straight games, dating back to Jan. 22, 2015, and has averaged a team-best 18.2 points per game. She leads the Big Ten in double-doubles with seven and is one of just 20 current active Division I players with 29+ career double-doubles.
LYON LINES
Maggie Lyon has scored nearly half (678) of her 1,382 career points from 3-point range. Lyon is tied for second in program history in 3-point field goals made with 226 and is tied for second on NU's single-season record list with 83 triples during the 2014-15 season.
Lyon has led the 'Cats in scoring in five games this season, including career-best 31-point performance against North Carolina.
OH, DEAR(Y)!
Ashley Deary has had a stellar start to the 2015-16 season, recording double digit scoring in all 10 games this year. She led the 'Cats in scoring against Western Michigan (11/22/15) with a career-best 25 points and added a career-high 12 assists to mark a program single-game best. At North Carolina, Deary surpassed the 400-assists career mark and became just the fourth active Big Ten Player to accomplish the feat. She ranks third on the squad in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game.
Ashley Deary recorded 10 steals against Eastern Washington to mark the second most by an individual in the NCAA to date this season. The junior leads the country in steals per game with 4.7 per contest.
TURNOVER FOR WHAT?!
In the Wildcats' non-conference finale against UMKC, NU committed just two turnovers while forcing 24. The 'Cats two turnovers were the fewest in Joe McKeown's coaching career and ties for the fewest among Division I teams this season. Northern Colorado also committed just two against Western State on Nov. 16.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS ON THE ROAD
The Wildcats are fresh off a tournament in Austin, Texas, where the squad went 3-0 on the week. NU was the only team (in an eight team field) to go undefeated with wins over Eastern Washington, Creighton and East Carolina. NU followed up with a win over North Carolina in its first true road-game of the season and a win over cross-town rival Loyola. The Wildcats are a perfect 5-0 away from Welsh-Ryan Arena.
••••••
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!
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballWomen's Basketball - Big Ten Network Desk Segment at Big Ten Media Day (10/8/25)
Wednesday, October 08
Joe McKeown Joins B1G Today (7/14/25)
Thursday, July 17
Women's Basketball - Nebraska Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, March 02
Women's Basketball - 'Cats Furious Comeback Falls Short In 85-79 Loss To No. 21 Maryland (2/20/25)
Friday, February 21
