Northwestern University Athletics

Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
'Cats to Face Boilermakers in First Round of Big Ten Tournament
3/5/2024 5:45:00 PM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS, Min. - The 'Cats will head to Minneapolis as the 13 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and are set to take on 12th-seeded Purdue in the first round on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
Northwestern will look to keep its win streak going after Sunday's 72-61 win at Rutgers, taking home the season sweep over the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway. The team went 8-for-15 from beyond the arc, their second-best percentage of the season, and shot 52.7 percent from the field overall. Defensively, the Wildcats held the Scarlet Knights to just 37.0 percent from the field.
Caileigh Walsh led the team in scoring, notching 22 on the day. Melannie Daley followed with 20, and Caroline Lau closed the squad of double-digit scorers with 16. It was the second time this season that Walsh and Daley reached the 20-point mark in the same game after they achieved the same totals in their first match-up with Rutgers on Dec. 30.
Paige Mott tied a career-high with five assists–the team in its entirety clocked 20. Lau also had five, putting her total for the regular season at 145. This ranks her 20th nationally and fourth in the conference.
Purdue heads to the tournament after finishing the regular season with losses to Michigan and Penn State. In their first meeting with the Boilermakers this season on Feb. 14, the Wildcats fell 48-74.
Should the Wildcats beat Purdue, they would go on to face fifth-seeded Nebraska on Thursday afternoon.
Northwestern will look to keep its win streak going after Sunday's 72-61 win at Rutgers, taking home the season sweep over the Scarlet Knights in Piscataway. The team went 8-for-15 from beyond the arc, their second-best percentage of the season, and shot 52.7 percent from the field overall. Defensively, the Wildcats held the Scarlet Knights to just 37.0 percent from the field.
Caileigh Walsh led the team in scoring, notching 22 on the day. Melannie Daley followed with 20, and Caroline Lau closed the squad of double-digit scorers with 16. It was the second time this season that Walsh and Daley reached the 20-point mark in the same game after they achieved the same totals in their first match-up with Rutgers on Dec. 30.
Paige Mott tied a career-high with five assists–the team in its entirety clocked 20. Lau also had five, putting her total for the regular season at 145. This ranks her 20th nationally and fourth in the conference.
Purdue heads to the tournament after finishing the regular season with losses to Michigan and Penn State. In their first meeting with the Boilermakers this season on Feb. 14, the Wildcats fell 48-74.
Should the Wildcats beat Purdue, they would go on to face fifth-seeded Nebraska on Thursday afternoon.
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