Monday, February 17
Piscataway, N.J.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
9-15,2-11Big Ten
69
at
59
Rutgers
10-16,2-13Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Northwestern
25
12
15
17
69
Rutgers
12
16
16
15
59
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
‘Cats Start Fast, Finish Strong In 69-59 Win At Rutgers
2/17/2025 9:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Walsh scores team-high 13 points as Northwestern wins third straight over Scarlet Knights
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (February 17, 2025) – Northwestern (9-15, 2-11 B1G) jumped out to a double-digit lead in the first half before holding off a late surge from host Rutgers (10-16, 2-13 B1G) en route to a 69-59 victory this evening inside Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, N.J.
How It Happened
Northwestern raced out of the gates, opening the night on a 10-2 run. Caroline Lau connected with Kyla Jones on the break to open the scoring, 2-0, ahead of a Casey Harter jumper that pushed the gap to 8-2. Jones continued her hot start, finishing off another find by Lau to stretch the lead to eight, 12-4. Playing only an hour from her native Sparta, N.J., Caileigh Walsh connected from outside, sparking a 7-0 surge to extend the margin to 21-9. Jones capped off the frame with another fast break bucket as Northwestern opened up a 25-12 advantage.
Walsh hit again from beyond the arc with just over a minute gone in the second frame to give the 'Cats their largest lead of the night, 30-14. Following a split at the line by Jones that made it 33-21, Northwestern went scoreless for nearly five minutes, with two Melannie Daley free throws snapping the drought and upping the lead back to seven, 35-28. Walsh sent the Wildcats back to the locker room with momentum, finishing on a putback with time expiring to give the visitors a 37-28 lead at halftime.
Both teams struggled to get into a rhythm coming out of the intermission. A Harter floater along the baseline with three minutes gone extended the lead back to nine, 42-33, before Daley hit from mid-range to push the margin into double digits, 44-33. A conventional three-point play from Awa Sidibe brought the hosts back within six, 48-42, with 1:11 remaining, but a driving score by Grace Sullivan sent the 'Cats into the fourth quarter with an eight-point edge, 52-44.
Harter drilled Northwestern's first triple since the early stages of the second quarter just 13 seconds into the final frame to push the lead to 55-44. Rutgers responded with seven unanswered points, closing within four, 55-51, on a Zachara Perkins transition three at the 7:18 mark. Taylor Williams took over shortly after, rattling off eight of the night's next 10 points, the last two of which came off another nifty find by Lau, to extend the lead back into double digits, 63-53, with 2:48 to go. Rutgers would get no closer than five the rest of the night, as Northwestern iced the game from the free throw line to close out its first Big Ten Conference road win of 2024-25.
Gallery: (2-17-2025) Women's Basketball at Rutgers
Inside The Box Score
- Walsh paced the 'Cats in her return to her home state, finishing with 13 points (5-18 FGs, 2-7 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and four rebounds.
- Williams was outstanding in the fourth quarter, hitting on all four of her attempts from the field as part of a 12-point (5-10 FGs, 2-2 FTs), five-rebound effort.
- Williams now sits only six rebounds shy of 1,000 for her collegiate career.
- Jones added 12 points (5-10 FGs, 2-4 FTs), while Daley (3-9 FGs, 5-6 FTs) and Harter (3-7 FGs, 1-4 3FGs, 4-4 FTs) chipped in 11 points apiece.
- Lau again orchestrated the Northwestern offense, dishing out a game-high nine assists.
- Northwestern's 25 points scored in the first quarter were its most in an opening frame this season.
- Sidibe led all scorers with 16 points (6-13 FGs, 4-6 FTs) for Rutgers.
Up Next
Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena for its penultimate home contest of the 2024-25 season on Thursday, February 20 against No. 21 Maryland. The 6:30 p.m. CT tip-off will air on Big Ten Network.
How It Happened
Northwestern raced out of the gates, opening the night on a 10-2 run. Caroline Lau connected with Kyla Jones on the break to open the scoring, 2-0, ahead of a Casey Harter jumper that pushed the gap to 8-2. Jones continued her hot start, finishing off another find by Lau to stretch the lead to eight, 12-4. Playing only an hour from her native Sparta, N.J., Caileigh Walsh connected from outside, sparking a 7-0 surge to extend the margin to 21-9. Jones capped off the frame with another fast break bucket as Northwestern opened up a 25-12 advantage.
Walsh hit again from beyond the arc with just over a minute gone in the second frame to give the 'Cats their largest lead of the night, 30-14. Following a split at the line by Jones that made it 33-21, Northwestern went scoreless for nearly five minutes, with two Melannie Daley free throws snapping the drought and upping the lead back to seven, 35-28. Walsh sent the Wildcats back to the locker room with momentum, finishing on a putback with time expiring to give the visitors a 37-28 lead at halftime.
Both teams struggled to get into a rhythm coming out of the intermission. A Harter floater along the baseline with three minutes gone extended the lead back to nine, 42-33, before Daley hit from mid-range to push the margin into double digits, 44-33. A conventional three-point play from Awa Sidibe brought the hosts back within six, 48-42, with 1:11 remaining, but a driving score by Grace Sullivan sent the 'Cats into the fourth quarter with an eight-point edge, 52-44.
Harter drilled Northwestern's first triple since the early stages of the second quarter just 13 seconds into the final frame to push the lead to 55-44. Rutgers responded with seven unanswered points, closing within four, 55-51, on a Zachara Perkins transition three at the 7:18 mark. Taylor Williams took over shortly after, rattling off eight of the night's next 10 points, the last two of which came off another nifty find by Lau, to extend the lead back into double digits, 63-53, with 2:48 to go. Rutgers would get no closer than five the rest of the night, as Northwestern iced the game from the free throw line to close out its first Big Ten Conference road win of 2024-25.
Inside The Box Score
- Walsh paced the 'Cats in her return to her home state, finishing with 13 points (5-18 FGs, 2-7 3FGs, 1-2 FTs) and four rebounds.
- Williams was outstanding in the fourth quarter, hitting on all four of her attempts from the field as part of a 12-point (5-10 FGs, 2-2 FTs), five-rebound effort.
- Williams now sits only six rebounds shy of 1,000 for her collegiate career.
- Jones added 12 points (5-10 FGs, 2-4 FTs), while Daley (3-9 FGs, 5-6 FTs) and Harter (3-7 FGs, 1-4 3FGs, 4-4 FTs) chipped in 11 points apiece.
- Lau again orchestrated the Northwestern offense, dishing out a game-high nine assists.
- Northwestern's 25 points scored in the first quarter were its most in an opening frame this season.
- Sidibe led all scorers with 16 points (6-13 FGs, 4-6 FTs) for Rutgers.
Up Next
Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena for its penultimate home contest of the 2024-25 season on Thursday, February 20 against No. 21 Maryland. The 6:30 p.m. CT tip-off will air on Big Ten Network.
Team Stats
NU
RU
FG%
.373
.361
3FG%
.231
.118
FT%
.615
.650
RB
43
47
TO
7
15
STL
8
0
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
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