Northwestern University Athletics
Thursday, March 2
Indianapolis, Ind.
11 a.m.
Northwestern
20-10
78
vs
73
Iowa
17-13
1
2
3
4
F
Northwestern
14
27
19
18
78
Iowa
17
15
23
18
73
Coffey's 34 Points Moves Northwestern Past Iowa in Big Ten Tournament
3/2/2017 1:04:00 PM | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – An incredible 34-point performance by Nia Coffey led Northwestern to a 78-73 win over Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
The ninth-seeded Wildcats advance to Friday's quarterfinal round where they will face No. 1 seed Ohio State at 11 a.m. CT.
Coffey's performance marked the third time she has reached the 30-point mark this season. Her 34 points were a season high, and she came within a single point of her career high of 35. Coffey was 15-of-26 from the field and also had eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
Lauren Douglas had another outstanding game with 17 points just a game removed from a season high 23 in the season finale at Purdue last Sunday. Douglas tied Coffey with a game-high eight rebounds and added two blocks. Christen Inman also got into double figures for the Wildcats with 11.
Point guard Ashley Deary was everywhere on Thursday with nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block in 39 minutes. Sophomore Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah received her first start of the season and dominated down low with seven rebounds and a career high four blocks.
Northwestern's 78 points are the most the team has scored in a game since Jan. 14 when it hung 80 in a win over Indiana. The Wildcats shot 46 percent from the field, including a second quarter in which the team was a blistering 12-for-20 (60 percent) on field goals.
Most of the damage for both teams was done inside the paint with Iowa holding a 48-46 edge there. The Wildcats forced 17 Hawkeye turnovers and turned them into 19 points. Northwestern dominated on the glass, securing 18 offensive rebounds out of their 39 total.
Iowa led 17-14 after the first 10 minutes, but the 'Cats dominated the second period, outscoring the Hawkeyes, 27-15. Coffey scored 21 first-half points, matching a season high for a half, to lead Northwestern to a 41-32 lead after 20 minutes.
The third quarter was evenly matched, and Iowa managed to close the gap to five going into the fourth. The Hawkeyes then grabbed a 69-68 lead with fewer than four minutes remaining, but the Wildcats were able to get back up 70-69 and put the game away down the stretch with free throws.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will meet No. 1 overall seed Ohio State on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Buckeyes won a 94-87 thriller back on Jan. 3 in Evanston in the only meeting between the two this year.
NOTES
Team
• Northwestern has won 20 games for the second time in the last three seasons.
• The Wildcats improved to 17-1 when they lead at the half.
• Chicago's Big Ten Team is 11-1 when it scores 70 or more points.
• Northwestern is 4-1 in games decided by five or fewer points.
• The Wildcats are 12-0 when they outrebound their opponent.
• 18 offensive rebounds is a season high for Northwestern.
Individual
• Nia Coffey's 34 points were a season high and just one shy of matching a career high.
• Coffey now has 2,266 points in her Northwestern career, just 41 shy of Anucha Browne's (1982-85) program record (2,307).
• Coffey scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game, the 25th time this season and the 104th time in her career.
• Coffey's 34-point game was her third 30-plus point effort of the season and the fifth of her career.
• Ashley Deary has started and played in all 130 games of her Northwestern career.
• Deary has recorded at least four assists and a steal in every game since Dec. 28 at Nebraska, a stretch of 16 contests.
• Lauren Douglas now has 170 career blocks. She needs three more to pass Alex Cohen (2011-15) for fifth all-time at Northwestern.
• Douglas reached double figures for the 11th time this season and the 50th time in her career.
• Douglas tied a season high with eight rebounds.
• Christen Inman's 11 points put her in double figures for the 15th time this year and the 75th time in her career.
• Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah received her first start of the season.
• Kunaiyi-Akpanah's four blocks are a career high.
The ninth-seeded Wildcats advance to Friday's quarterfinal round where they will face No. 1 seed Ohio State at 11 a.m. CT.
Coffey's performance marked the third time she has reached the 30-point mark this season. Her 34 points were a season high, and she came within a single point of her career high of 35. Coffey was 15-of-26 from the field and also had eight rebounds, three steals, two assists and a block.
Lauren Douglas had another outstanding game with 17 points just a game removed from a season high 23 in the season finale at Purdue last Sunday. Douglas tied Coffey with a game-high eight rebounds and added two blocks. Christen Inman also got into double figures for the Wildcats with 11.
Point guard Ashley Deary was everywhere on Thursday with nine points, seven assists, five rebounds, four steals and a block in 39 minutes. Sophomore Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah received her first start of the season and dominated down low with seven rebounds and a career high four blocks.
Northwestern's 78 points are the most the team has scored in a game since Jan. 14 when it hung 80 in a win over Indiana. The Wildcats shot 46 percent from the field, including a second quarter in which the team was a blistering 12-for-20 (60 percent) on field goals.
Most of the damage for both teams was done inside the paint with Iowa holding a 48-46 edge there. The Wildcats forced 17 Hawkeye turnovers and turned them into 19 points. Northwestern dominated on the glass, securing 18 offensive rebounds out of their 39 total.
Iowa led 17-14 after the first 10 minutes, but the 'Cats dominated the second period, outscoring the Hawkeyes, 27-15. Coffey scored 21 first-half points, matching a season high for a half, to lead Northwestern to a 41-32 lead after 20 minutes.
The third quarter was evenly matched, and Iowa managed to close the gap to five going into the fourth. The Hawkeyes then grabbed a 69-68 lead with fewer than four minutes remaining, but the Wildcats were able to get back up 70-69 and put the game away down the stretch with free throws.
Chicago's Big Ten Team will meet No. 1 overall seed Ohio State on Friday in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. The Buckeyes won a 94-87 thriller back on Jan. 3 in Evanston in the only meeting between the two this year.
NOTES
Team
• Northwestern has won 20 games for the second time in the last three seasons.
• The Wildcats improved to 17-1 when they lead at the half.
• Chicago's Big Ten Team is 11-1 when it scores 70 or more points.
• Northwestern is 4-1 in games decided by five or fewer points.
• The Wildcats are 12-0 when they outrebound their opponent.
• 18 offensive rebounds is a season high for Northwestern.
Individual
• Nia Coffey's 34 points were a season high and just one shy of matching a career high.
• Coffey now has 2,266 points in her Northwestern career, just 41 shy of Anucha Browne's (1982-85) program record (2,307).
• Coffey scored in double figures for the fifth consecutive game, the 25th time this season and the 104th time in her career.
• Coffey's 34-point game was her third 30-plus point effort of the season and the fifth of her career.
• Ashley Deary has started and played in all 130 games of her Northwestern career.
• Deary has recorded at least four assists and a steal in every game since Dec. 28 at Nebraska, a stretch of 16 contests.
• Lauren Douglas now has 170 career blocks. She needs three more to pass Alex Cohen (2011-15) for fifth all-time at Northwestern.
• Douglas reached double figures for the 11th time this season and the 50th time in her career.
• Douglas tied a season high with eight rebounds.
• Christen Inman's 11 points put her in double figures for the 15th time this year and the 75th time in her career.
• Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah received her first start of the season.
• Kunaiyi-Akpanah's four blocks are a career high.
••••••
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Team Stats
NU
IOWA
FG%
.455
.475
3FG%
.333
.273
FT%
.789
.824
RB
39
30
TO
16
17
STL
11
8
Game Leaders
Pts
34
FGM
15
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
6
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
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