Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
8-14,3-8Big Ten
Wisconsin
10-11,3-8Big Ten
Northwestern Completes Season Sweep over Wisconsin
2/4/2024 5:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Caroline Lau, Caileigh Walsh and Paige Mott combined to score 55 of Northwestern's 69 total points as the Wildcats defeated the Wisconsin Badgers 69-43 at home Sunday.
Lau led the Wildcats (8-14, 3-8) with a career-high 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Walsh tacked on 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Mott chipped in a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
As always, Northwestern utilized excellent ball movement in Sunday's game, piling up 19 assists on 26 made field goals. Lau's five assists led the distribution list for the Wildcats.
On the defensive side, Northwestern forced 19 Wisconsin turnovers in the game. The 'Cats turned those takeaways into 23 points on the offensive end of the floor. Melannie Daley led the way individually with two steals.
How It Happened
Northwestern started out hot, going on a 9-0 run to take an early lead over the first three minutes of the game. The Wildcats maintained their pace through the end of the period and - though Wisconsin's offense did kick in - Northwestern entered the quarter break with a 19-9 advantage.
The Wildcats kept their first quarter lead intact before going on a 6-0 run starting at the 8:22 mark in the second period to increase their lead to 25-9. The Badgers cut into that lead, but the Wildcats still enjoyed a 31-23 advantage heading into halftime.
Following intermission, Northwestern continued to expand its advantage, pushing it to 44-31 before going on an 8-0 run to expand its lead further to 52-31 with 20 seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Northwestern turned three offensive rebounds into four second chance points on the way to scoring 21 total points in the quarter.
Northwestern kept widening that lead, expanding it to 55-33 before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Walsh's layup, to grow the lead to 61-33 with 7:09 to go in the contest. The Badgers narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Wildcats still cruised the rest of the way for the 69-43 win.
Game Notes
» Paige Mott notched her third double-double of the season for the Wildcats with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The 'Cats now have three players - Mott, Walsh and Lau - who have collected three double-doubles this year.
» The Wildcats held the Badgers to only 25.8 percent shooting from the field - their best defensive performance of the year in that category.
» The Wildcats never trailed after taking a 19-9 first quarter lead.
» The Wildcats shared the ball well, recording an assist on 73 percent of made field goals.
» Caroline Lau, Caileigh Walsh, and Paige Mott combined to account for 80 percent of the Wildcats points.
» Northwestern had a great day defensively, holding Wisconsin to 15 percent from beyond the arc on 26 attempts.
» Northwestern had a 40-38 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Northwestern defense forced 19 turnovers - one off their season high, set on Nov. 12 against Omaha.
» Caroline Lau led the Wildcats with a game- and career-high 24 points on perfect 9-9 shooting, including a 4-4 mark from beyond the arch.
» Northwestern got a team-high 10 rebounds from Paige Mott, her fourth double-digit rebounding game of the year.
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
