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Northwestern Completes Season Sweep Over Illinois, 64-58
2/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Northwestern 64, Illinois 58 Welsh-Ryan Arena • Evanston, Ill. Box Score | Box Score  |
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern put the clamps down on the defensive end and sank some clutch free throws when it mattered most to knock off Illinois for the second time this season, 64-58. It marks the 13th time in program history that the Wildcats swept the season series from the Illini and the first since 2011.
The Wildcats led by as many as 15 Sunday, but Illinois clawed its way back during a furious second-half run. The contest was tied with 3:14 to play, but NU outscored its instate foe 9-3 the rest of the way to secure its 17th win of the season, and seventh in Big Ten play.
Northwestern was unable to convert at a consistent clip on the offensive end in the early going. Illinois got out to a 15-10 lead with 11:04 remaining in the half while NU was shooting just 25 percent (4-of-16). On the other end, the Illini made half of their first 12 attempts, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
NU reserve forward Lauren Douglas injected some life back into the 'Cats when she scored, drew a foul and converted from the charity stripe to make it a two-point game with 10:10 to go. Later, the junior scored inside to tie the score at 18-18 with 7:42 to go. The 'Cats finally took the lead back when Ashley Deary knifed inside and scored about 28 seconds later.
Illinois' Chatrice White evened the score at 20-20 at the 5:35 mark, but back-to-back layups from Nia Coffey put the Wildcats on top where they would remain for the duration of the half. The lead grew to as many as seven points, 31-24, with 1:11 to go in the opening stanza when Maggie Lyon buried one of three 3-pointers that she notched in the first half. Lyon led all scorers with 13 points as the 'Cats led at the break, 31-27.
Northwestern took care of the basketball in the first half, committing only five turnovers. Entering Sunday, NU opponents averaged 9.8 turnovers in the first half and the Illini went above that mark with 11. The 'Cats had eight steals in the half with Coffey, Deary and Alex Cohen each picking up two. Creating havoc on defense helped Chicago's Big Ten Team overcome a mark of 36.4 percent from the field in the first half.
The Wildcats continued to succeed as the second half opened. Coffey drilled a 3-pointer, as did Cohen, before Lyon weaved her way through the paint to cap an 8-2 lead to start the half, giving NU its largest lead of the game to that point, 39-29, just over two minutes into the period.
The home team eventually ballooned its lead to 15 points with 15 minutes to play on a layup by Deary. Northwestern led 46-31, but the Illini had a run in them yet. Illinois turned up the heat on the defensive end and outscored the 'Cats, 24-9 over a span of 11:12 to knot the game with 3:14 to go and set up a dramatic conclusion.
Deary netted a crucial 3-pointer with 2:46 to go off a feed from Douglas to put the Wildcats ahead once again in a game that featured only four lead changes. Neither team could score for about a two-minute span until Deary stepped to the line and converted a pair of free throws with about 49 seconds to play, increasing her team's lead to five.
Illinois got a deep 3-pointer the next time down the floor from Kyley Simmons to make it a one-possession game. Deary was fouled and, this time, she went 0-for-2 from the stripe, giving the Illini the chance to tie the game or take the lead. As Simmons drove toward the hoop, Northwestern's Douglas confidently stood in her path and drew an offensive foul on the Illini guard with a shade over 17 seconds to go. Deary got four more chances from the free-throw line in the final 16 seconds and she made them all to help the 'Cats complete the season sweep.
Northwestern won its seventh Big Ten game of the season Sunday, its highest total since the 2009-10 season, Joe McKeown's second year at the helm. The victory also improved the Wildcats to 37-34 all-time against Illinois. Seven of the last nine games in the series have been decided by six points or less, including Sunday's game. Chicago's Big Ten Team is 6-1 in those tight tilts.
The 'Cats also earned the de facto crown as state champions. NU is 7-0 against teams from the Land of Lincoln after toppling Chicago State, DePaul, UIC, Loyola, Eastern Illinois and the Illini, twice.
Coffey secured her third consecutive double-double and her seventh in Big Ten play this season behind 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Lyon led the Wildcats with 17 points, while adding five rebounds and playing all 40 minutes. Deary finished with 13 points while matching Cohen with five assists. For Cohen, that number matched a career high.
Douglas finished with nine points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes. That was the most playing time that the Collierville, Tenn., native has seen since logging 27 minutes at Ohio State on Jan. 4. Karly Roser made her first start of the season in the backcourt and she made her presence felt, especially on the offensive glass, the senior corralled a game-high five offensive rebounds, one-third of her team's total in that category.
Northwestern will begin a two-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at Purdue. The contest at Mackey Arena will tip at 6 p.m. CST and it marks the only regular-season matchup this season between the 'Cats and Boilermakers.
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