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Dec. 5, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Pioneers of Denver University enter Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 2-3 record and are coming off an 84-72 loss to the University of Iowa, their third in a row. Northwestern is coming off a 67-58, championship-game loss to Houston in the Roger L. White Invitational. This is the Wildcats' fourth game of a five-game home stretch. NU is 1-3 at home this season.
Leading the offensive charge this season is a bevy of true freshmen. Six-foot-five inch Sarah Kwasinski leads the group as NU's second-leading scorer and the team's top rebounder. The Chicago native is averaging 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She also leads the team in double-doubles with two. Her 7.3 rebounds is good enough for 10th in the Big Ten rebounding statistics.
Not to be outdone is forward/center Suzanne Morrison, who recorded her first collegiate double-double against Hofstra, scoring 15 points (a career high) and grabbing 10 rebounds (also a career high). Morrison is third on the team in scoring (7.4) and second in rebounding (5.6).
Without point guard Melissa Culver -who is ranked fourth in the conference in assists per game (5.0)-Kwasinski and Morrison would not get as many looks at the hoop. Culver set a career-high last time out with nine assists in NU's 67-58 loss to Houston. As a matter of fact, since her inception into the starting lineup (three games) she has averaged 7.3 assists per contest. She is also averaging 4.3 points per game.
Every freshmen on the team has played in at least five games, with Samantha McComb playing more and more minutes every game. She played a career high 25 against Houston.