Wednesday, December 4
Evanston, Ill.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
4-3,0-0Big Ten
64
vs
56
DePaul
3-6,0-0Big East
1
2
3
4
F
DePaul
14
10
15
17
56
Northwestern
21
20
17
6
64
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
Walsh Surpasses 1,000 Points, ‘Cats Hold Off DePaul, 64-56
12/4/2024 11:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Northwestern picks up first win over local rival since 2014
EVANSTON, Ill. (December 4, 2024) – Caileigh Walsh joined Northwestern's 1,000-point club as the Wildcats jumped out to a double-digit lead before withstanding a late DePaul (3-6) rally en route to a 64-56 win this evening inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Tonight's victory, Northwestern's third straight and first over DePaul since the 2014-15 season, sees the 'Cats improve to 4-3 overall.
How It Happened
Fresh off a 22-point outing in this past Sunday's win over Cornell, Grace Sullivan looked to pick up right where she left off, rattling off six straight points to give Northwestern a 10-6 lead just past the midway point of the opening frame. After converting on a conventional three-point play earlier in the quarter, Walsh further etched her name into Wildcat annals when she knocked down a triple at the 1:46 mark to surpass 1,000 points for her collegiate career. Walsh's trey sparked a quarter-ending 5-0 spurt that saw the 'Cats establish a 21-14 edge.
Northwestern's defense provided a spark early in the second quarter, as Kyla Jones scored on the break off a Xamiya Walton steal to stretch the lead into double digits, 28-18. Casey Harter drilled a three in transition to punctuate a 13-0 Northwestern run that saw the lead reach 37-18 at the 4:55 mark. DePaul chipped its deficit down to 37-24 as time wore on, but Northwestern finished with a flurry, as Walsh scored at the horn to send the 'Cats racing into halftime with a 41-24 lead.
The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas coming out of the break. A Taylor Williams old-fashioned three-point play gave the hosts their largest lead of the night, 49-26, with just over two minutes gone. Northwestern seemingly had an answer for every DePaul push in the third quarter, ultimately taking a 58-39 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Offense proved tough to come by throughout the fourth quarter for Northwestern, as the 'Cats finished just 1-of-8 from the field during the final frame. A Caroline Lau floater with 7:49 to go briefly reestablished a 17-point margin, 60-43. Slowly but surely, DePaul whittled away at Northwestern's lead, battling back as close as four, 60-56, inside the final two minutes. Walsh put away any hopes of the Blue Demons completing their comeback down the stretch, hitting on each of her final four attempts from the charity stripe to ice the Wildcats' fourth win across their last five games.
Gallery: (12-4-2024) Women's Basketball vs. DePaul
Inside The Box Score
Up Next
Northwestern opens Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, December 8 when it takes on No. 23 Michigan in a 1 p.m. (CT) tip-off inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Tonight's victory, Northwestern's third straight and first over DePaul since the 2014-15 season, sees the 'Cats improve to 4-3 overall.
How It Happened
Fresh off a 22-point outing in this past Sunday's win over Cornell, Grace Sullivan looked to pick up right where she left off, rattling off six straight points to give Northwestern a 10-6 lead just past the midway point of the opening frame. After converting on a conventional three-point play earlier in the quarter, Walsh further etched her name into Wildcat annals when she knocked down a triple at the 1:46 mark to surpass 1,000 points for her collegiate career. Walsh's trey sparked a quarter-ending 5-0 spurt that saw the 'Cats establish a 21-14 edge.
Northwestern's defense provided a spark early in the second quarter, as Kyla Jones scored on the break off a Xamiya Walton steal to stretch the lead into double digits, 28-18. Casey Harter drilled a three in transition to punctuate a 13-0 Northwestern run that saw the lead reach 37-18 at the 4:55 mark. DePaul chipped its deficit down to 37-24 as time wore on, but Northwestern finished with a flurry, as Walsh scored at the horn to send the 'Cats racing into halftime with a 41-24 lead.
The Wildcats kept their foot on the gas coming out of the break. A Taylor Williams old-fashioned three-point play gave the hosts their largest lead of the night, 49-26, with just over two minutes gone. Northwestern seemingly had an answer for every DePaul push in the third quarter, ultimately taking a 58-39 lead into the final 10 minutes of regulation.
Offense proved tough to come by throughout the fourth quarter for Northwestern, as the 'Cats finished just 1-of-8 from the field during the final frame. A Caroline Lau floater with 7:49 to go briefly reestablished a 17-point margin, 60-43. Slowly but surely, DePaul whittled away at Northwestern's lead, battling back as close as four, 60-56, inside the final two minutes. Walsh put away any hopes of the Blue Demons completing their comeback down the stretch, hitting on each of her final four attempts from the charity stripe to ice the Wildcats' fourth win across their last five games.
Inside The Box Score
- For the 28th time in her career, Walsh led Northwestern on the night, finishing with 14 points (3-6 FGs, 1-2 3FGs, 7-7 FTs), four rebounds, a block, and two steals.
- Walsh is the first Wildcat to surpass 1,000 points for her career since Veronica Burton accomplished the feat during the 2020-21 season.
- Walsh is also the first Wildcat forward to join the 1,000-point club since Abi Scheid in 2019-20.
- Sullivan continued her red-hot play, adding 13 points (6-11 FGs, 1-2 FTs) and eight rebounds.
- Across Northwestern's last five games, Sullivan is averaging 13.6 points and is operating at just over a 56-percent clip from the field.
- Lau made her presence felt at both ends of the floor, ripping down a career-high 12 rebounds, in addition to dishing out seven assists.
- Lau, who also came away with three steals, has five games of five-plus assists this season.
- Taylor Johnson-Matthews paced DePaul with a game-high 20 points (9-16 FGs, 2-4 3FGs).
Up Next
Northwestern opens Big Ten Conference play on Sunday, December 8 when it takes on No. 23 Michigan in a 1 p.m. (CT) tip-off inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Team Stats
DePaul
NU
FG%
.319
.418
3FG%
.261
.400
FT%
.500
.560
RB
40
43
TO
15
18
STL
14
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
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