Feb. 28, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. -
BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
No. 11 Northwestern vs. No. 6 Illinois
Van Andel Arena * Grand Rapids, Mich.
Quick Notes on Northwestern
* Sophomore Emily Butler was named to the honorable mention All-Big Ten team as selected by the conference coaches.
* The Wildcats ended the regular season with a loss to Indiana on February 25 in Evanston. Northwestern ended the regular season 4-22 and 0-16 and enters the Big Ten Tournament as the 11th seed.
* Head coach June Olkowski summed up the season "Injuries in the preseason hurt us until January. We improved dramatically in February, but it was not enough to make a run in the Big Ten. Hopefully we can do that in the tournament."
* Northwestern is 3-6 in the Big Ten Tournament (.333). The Wildcats are 0-5 in the quarterfinals. Northwestern has never made it past the quarterfinals.
* Emily Butler is the team's leading scorer, averaging 12.3 points per contest. Butler also leads the team in assists (4.3 apg).
* Leslie Dolland leads the team in rebounding (5.9) and is third in scoring (7.6). * Tami Sears is second in scoring (9.9) and rebounding (5.5).
* Natalie Will leads the team in steals (1.6) and ranks second in assists (3.35).
* With her 10 three-point attempts against Illinois (2/9/01), Dana Leonard moved into third on NU's all-time three-point field goals attempted list. Leonard has now attempted 462 three-pointers in her career. Michele Ratay (1992-97) leads the list with 629 career three-point attempts and Kristina Divjak (1995-2000) is second with 544.
* Emily Butler had played in 49 straight games, dating back to her collegiate debut until she missed the Feb. 8, game at Illinois due to a concussion.
* Freshman Michelle Zylstra is averaging 0.73 blocks per game and ranks 10th in the Big Ten. She had all three of NU's blocks vs. Wisconsin on Feb. 11.
* Northwestern has only had two games in which they shot 50 percent or better, compared to nine games by opponents. NU shot 50% against Northern Illinois and won, 77-63. They shot 51% against Penn State on Feb. 4, but fell to the Lions, 65-62.
* The Wildcats have stolen the ball 10 or more times in seven games this season. They are averaging 7.3 per contest.
* In 23 games, the Wildcats have had eight different players score in double figures in a game. Northwestern had five players reach double figures in scoring last season.
Northwestern Probable Starters
Pos. Player Cl. Ht. PPG RPG
F #0 Tami Sears Sr. 6-2 9.9 5.5
F #30 Natalie Will So. 5-9 6.1 3.7
C #42 Leslie Dolland So. 6-2 7.6 5.9
G #33 Emily Butler So. 5-8 12.3 2.4
G #10 Dana Leonard Sr. 5-6 6.1 1.0
Off the Bench Cl. Ht. PPG RPG
F #24 Michelle Zylstra Fr. 6-1 5.2 4.0
G #40 Ashley Messenger Jr. 5-10 3.8 2.7
F #32 Bill?e Russell Jr. 6-1 4.8 3.0
G #11 Courtney Koester Fr. 5-4 1.4 0.7
Head Coach June Olkowski
June Olkowski is in her 12th season as a collegiate head coach and has a 159-191 record for a .454 winning percentage. Olkowski is in her second season at Northwestern and has posted a 10-43 record.
Butler at the Wheel for NU
Sophomore point guard Emily Butler has directed the Wildcat attack so far this season. She is averaging 12.3 points per game to lead the team. The Greenwood, Indiana, native scored a career-best 26 points to lead NU in the 77-68 loss to Michigan State (2/15). Butler leads the team in assists with 101.
Injury Report
Junior college transfer Anya Walker had toe surgery over the winter break and is out for the rest of the season. She is expected back at full strengthin 2001-02. Sophomore guard/forward Nicole Daniels is out of the lineup for the rest of the season with a stress fracture in her left foot.
Good ratio
On the season, sophomore guard Natalie Will has recorded 87 assists while committing 69 turnovers for a 1.26 to 1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Will is 13th among all Big Ten players with 3.35 assists overall. She is sixth on the team in scoring with an average of 6.1 points per game. Will has started the last eight games, scoring 47 points.
Team Captains Named
Senior Tami Sears and sophomore Leslie Dolland were named team captains by their peers.
Spreading The Rock Around
Northwestern has had seven different players lead the team in scoring this season. Emily Butler leads the way, serving as the team's leading scorer in 10 of the 26 contests. Tami Sears has led the way nine times, while Leslie Dolland has led four times. Natalie Will has been the offensive threat in three of the contests and Nicole Daniels, Dana Leonard and Ashley Messenger each have been the leading scorer once.
Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament
Northwestern has won only three games in the Big Ten Tournament since its revival in 1995. Last season, the 10th-seeded Wildcats upset seventh-seeded Iowa, 68-59. It was the first time in tournament history that the No. 10 seed had upset the No. 7. Northwestern fell in the quarterfinals to Michigan, 72-39.
The Series vs. Illinois
Blood runs warm between these two teams. Seperated by 151 miles, Northwestern and Illinois have been battling on the hardwood for more than 25 years. Historically, Illinois has dominated the matchup for state bragging rights, leading the series, 33-12. The Illini defeated NU in the first game of the series, 52-30. Northwestern won the next 12 games for a 12-1 advantage until 1985, when the Illini broke the streak, defeating the 'Cats in a barnburner, 67-65, in Champaign. Most recently, Illinois has won the last seven of the last eight meetings, including both games this season.
A Look Back ...
Illinois 65, Northwestern 45
February 8, 2001 at Champaign
The first half was evenly played, as neither team opened up more than a four-point lead until Illinois' Iveta Marcauskaite hit a pair of free throws with 1:07 left. That was part of a 10-0 run by the Illini, as NU went the final 3:39 without a point and 6:18 without a field goal. By the break, Illinois was up, 35-26. In the second half, Illinois made two significant runs . An 8-2 run at the 16-minute mark and a 17-0 run over seven minutes in the middle of the second half to secure the win.
Illinois 88, Northwestern 65
January 9, 2001 at Evanston
Turnovers plagued NU with 23 giveaways yielding 25 Illinois points. The 'Cats stayed close in the first half behind a
5-for-6 start from long distance, including three-pointers on consecutive possessions from Michelle Zylstra. Ashley Messenger gave NU an 18-17 lead with a trey, but the Illini took control with a 13-2 run, and led 47-33 at the break. After the break, Illinois dominated and cruised to the
victory.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the tournament as the seventh seed and has a 14-14 overall record and is 9-7 in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini closed the regular season with a 75-64 loss to Iowa. Alison Curtin's and Holly Wilson's combined 26 points were not enough to keep the Hawkeyes at bay. Illinois is led by Curtin, who averages 14.4 points per game. Iveta Marcauskaite follows with 11.5 and Anne O'Neils averages 11.0 points per contest. Marcauskaite and Curtin lead the team on the boards, averaging 5.5 rebounds per game. As a team, Illinois is shooting 46% from the field, 31% from behind the arc and 69% from the line. They have averaged 69.9 points per game, while allowing their opponents 72.4.
Illinois Ties
Illinois head coach Therea Grentz coached NU's June Olkowski at Rutgers from 1978 to 1982. Olkowski, an All-American, was Grentz' star forward and helped lead the Scarlet Knights to the AIAW National Championship in 1982. This is the seventh meeting between the two, with Grentz holding the advantage, 5-1. Olkowski's 1997 Butler team provided her with her only win over Grentz (81-65).
Cat Tracks
Freshman walk-on Courtney Koester earned her first start of the season on Jan. 18 against Michigan ... Dana Leonard got her first start of the season on Jan. 7 and scored a season-high 19 points against Ohio State ... Senior center Becky Fisher got her first start of her career against Indiana on Feb. 25 ... Put me in, Coach--NU has nine players averaging double-figure minutes per game, including seven with 20-plus minutes ... The 'Cats have been good from the charity strip, connecting 315 times out of 491 attempts for 64%, last year they shot 58% ... Tami Sears, Leslie Dolland, Michelle Zylstra and Bill?e Russell have all recorded double-doubles this season ... Dana Leonard is leading the Wildcats in free-throw shooting, sinking 20-of-24 from the line (83%).