Northwestern
8-2,6-2Big Ten
Illinois
2-7,0-6Big Ten
Pulliam Drops 28 in 73-54 Rout Over Illinois
1/21/2021 8:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EVANTSON, Ill. – Northwestern put away the Illinois Fighting Illini, 73-54, improving to 7-2 and adding to a four-game win streak.
Senior Lindsey Pulliam led the Wildcats with a season-high 28 points. She now has 1,790 career points and will move up to fifth in the record books in career points. Junior Veronica Burton followed suit and posted a new career high in steals with seven. She surpassed Amy Pritchard (1980-83) and sits at third in the record books in career steals with 228. Burton also put up 15 points for the 'Cats and fellow junior Sydney Wood followed with 10, continuing her double-digit streak which she has hit in every game this season.
The 'Cats outmatched Illinois from beyond the arc all night going 6-of-16, with Pulliam, Burton and senior Lauryn Satterwhite each contributing two apiece. Northwestern continued their staunch defensive effort finding 25 points off 22 turnovers. Once again the Wildcats outpaced their opponent, grabbing 16 fastbreak points.
Pulliam pulled up to put the Wildcats on the board first and the 'Cats never looked back, maintaining the lead for 38 minutes of play. Burton was able to get Northwestern's first points from deep, fueling a 10-2 run late in the first frame.
Northwestern got off to a slow start in the second quarter, but so did the Illini. Sophomore Kaylah Rainey and Wood combined for six fastbreak and pumped some life into the Wildcat offense. Illinois was unable to keep up and the 'Cats ended the half on top, 30-15.
The Wildcat offense was injected with some fire by Pulliam early in the quarter, but the Fighting Illini responded and finally found their stride. Illinois cut the lead down to single digits before Pulliam really took off, contributing 8 points in a 10-0 Northwestern run. Pulliam scored 19 of her 28 points in the third quarter.
Satterwhite ended the third with a buzzer beater three and started the fourth with another one. She finished with 8 points on the night for a new career high. Pulliam and Burton put up a pair of shots from deep to take the game away from Illinois. The 'Cats finished strong, 73-54.
The 'Cats will stay at home and hope to continue their winning streak later this week when they face their next Big Ten foe, Indiana, on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN2.
