Wildcats Christen Beardsley Gym with Exhibition Win Over UMSL

11/5/2017 3:55:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

By: Hugh Mallen

By Hugh Mallen
NUsports.com Correspondent

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern began its 2017-18 season with a 59-40 exhibition win over Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday at historic Beardsley Gym.

First-year guard Jordan Hamilton led the Cats with 12 points and three steals in her first college basketball game and the Wildcats' 12th consecutive exhibition victory. Sophomore forward Abi Scheid also contributed 12 points and six rebounds in the contest.

Senior guard Lydia Rohde made two of four three pointers, posting a strong performance from beyond the arc after finishing last year with a .365 clip.

First-year guard Lindsey Pulliam, who enters the program an ESPN 100 four-star recruit, along with Jordan Hamilton, finished the game with seven points and three steals.

Junior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah finished the exhibition with 12 rebounds, which would have exceeded her 2016-17 season-high of eight boards. The Abuja, Nigeria, native recorded four defensive rebounds in the first five minutes out of just 10 available rebounds in that span.

Despite a slow start to begin the game, Northwestern used an 11-5 run to close out the first quarter in strong fashion. NU entered the locker room after the first half ahead by nine and used the second half to extend that advantage over UMSL.

The Wildcats out-rebounded the Tritons, 18-10, on the offensive end of the floor and 49-37 overall. The 'Cats also had five fewer turnovers and two more blocks.

Eleven Wildcats saw playing time, with nine of them scoring.

NU plays its season opener on Friday, Nov. 10, when Chicago's Big Ten Team travels to play Chicago State.

NOTES
Team

Northwestern has won 12 straight exhibitions coming into the game, dating back to 2005, which includes the entirety of the Joe McKeown era.
Nine different Wildcats scored, with eleven seeing playing time.
The #B1GCats scored 23 points on 15 second quarter possessions.
Northwestern dominated the boards, out-rebounding UMSL 49-37.
Starting at the 6:28 mark in the first quarter, Northwestern had a 6-0 run over 90 seconds, and would extend it to 11-5 over the rest of the quarter … Northwestern's biggest lead of the game was during the fourth quarter when the 'Cats led and won by 19 points.
After trailing by six points at the beginning of the first half, the 'Cats came back strong and finished the first half ahead by nine.

Individual

First-year guard Jordan Hamilton and Sophomore forward Abi Scheid led the team with 12 points each.
Hamilton scored her first points of the exhibition off a rebound with just over five minutes left in the quarter … She led NU in first-half scoring with 10 points out of the Wildcats' 34 total … She saw the most game time of any other Wildcat player, finishing with 35 minutes … Scheid scored Northwestern's first points in both halves.
Junior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah topped her 2016-17 season high of eight rebounds with a total of 12 … She recorded four defensive rebounds in the first five minutes, out of just 10 available rebounds in that span … She pulled down six rebounds in her first nine minutes.
Sophomore guard Byrdy Galernik and junior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah led the team in field goal percentage, both finishing at 66.7%.
Senior guard Lydia Rohde, who shot .365 from three last year while taking 80 percent of her shots from three, took all four shots from three and made two to finish with six points … She also had a pair of assists in 12 minutes.
Senior center Oceana Hamilton and first-year guard Jordan Hamilton each got time on the court … It was the first time that Northwestern had players with the same last name play since Allison and Maggie Mocchi saw action in 2009-10.
First-year guard Lindsey Pulliam was 3-for-3 on free-throws, successfully shooting the most out of any other player on the court.