Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Hustle Past Hoosiers, 75-69
2/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Northwestern 75, Indiana 69 Assembly Hall • Bloomington, Ill. Box Score | Box Score 
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Northwestern went on the road Thursday night and secured its third win away from home in Big Ten play with a 75-69 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall.
The game featured 11 lead changes and 10 tie scores, but NU's 42 points in the paint and its ability to take care of the basketball down the stretch helped the 'Cats head home with their 16th victory of the season, and sixth in Big Ten play.
Maggie Lyon led the Wildcats with 16 points, while Nia Coffey collected yet another double-double, her ninth of the season, behind 14 points and 12 rebounds. She also added four steals. Six players scored nine points or more during Northwestern's 16th win of the season.
Indiana jumped ahead 12-4 less than four minutes into the game, thanks in large part to a sizable advantage on the boards (11-3). The Wildcats began to chip away with a six-point run that saw three different players contribute offensively - Christen Inman, Coffey and Alex Cohen.
The Hoosiers held the lead, and in fact, grew it to eight points for a second time with 8:36 remaining in the opening frame. On the next possession, NU's Lauren Douglas scored, was fouled and made the free throw to ignite a 9-0 run that gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game with 6:29 remaining in the stanza.
Northwestern took a four-point into the locker room at halftime, 32-28, after Cohen corralled an offensive rebound and scored with about 35 seconds left in the frame.
Northwestern shot only 35.3 percent in the first half, but Chicago's Big Ten Team was bolstered by having only four turnovers in the first 20 minutes, while forcing Indiana into 11.
Inman gave NU its largest lead of the night, 42-36, after an Inman layup at the 15:05 mark. IU went on a 10-0 run right after that basket to regain the lead less than four minutes later.
The two sides went back and forth until Lyon followed up her own miss with a put-back with 5:08 left to go ahead 61-58, and the Purple and White would never trail again. Less than two minutes after Lyon's go-ahead bucket, Cohen drained a 3-pointer from right in front of Northwestern's bench to put the 'Cats up by seven with 3:14 to go. The Wildcats went 8-of-10 from the free throw line from that point on to cement the six-point victory.
Inman finished with 13 points, including seven in the first half, while Ashley Deary added 12 to go along with three rebounds and three steals. Cohen and Douglas netted nine points apiece, while the former matched a career high with five blocks.
Northwestern finished with 11 turnovers, while forcing Indiana into 20. The Wildcats shot 43.6 percent from the field and 84 percent from the charity stripe (21-of-25).
The Wildcats will be back in Evanston on Sunday, Feb. 8 to host instate-rival Illinois at 1 p.m. Before the game, Northwestern will celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day with a special round table event beginning at 11:30 a.m. Tickets for the event are just $3 for participants and family members and that price covers the event, as well as a ticket to the women's basketball game. Tickets can be picked up on the day of the event, but pre-registration is required. For more information, or to register, please click here.
NU will also hold its annual WBCA Pink Zone game. The 'Cats will wear special uniforms and honor both survivors, and their families, as well as doctors from Northwestern Memorial's Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University during the game.
Finally, dozens of former Wildcats will be on hand for an Alumni Day celebration.
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