March 3, 2004
NU Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern women's basketball will close out the 2003-04 season this weekend at the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The No. 11 Wildcats (8-19, 1-15 Big Ten) will face No. 6 Minnesota (20-7, 9-7 Big Ten) at approximately 6 p.m. CST. Exact game time depends on the Michigan-Illinois game, with Northwestern and Minnesota taking the court 25 minutes after the conclusion of that contest.
This will be the third meeting this season between the 'Cats and Golden Gophers. After dropping the first two contests by the scores of 40-72 and 46-73, NU is hoping that the third time is the charm vs. Minnesota. The U of M has lost four of its last six conference games since losing senior star Lindsey Whalen to a hand injury on February 12.
Northwestern is led by junior Samantha McComb, who tops NU's overall and league scoring categories with 10.9 and 9.4 points per game, respectively. Ifeoma Okonkwo leads the Wildcats in rebounding with 5.7 rebounds per game on average, 5.2 in conference play.
Freshman Alex Mueller has been a bright spot for the 'Cats, coming on strong in Big Ten play and averaging 9.3 ppg, just shy of McComb's lead. The rookie leads all conference players in 3-point FG percentage (.430) and is tied for second in 3-point FG made (2.12 per game).
Since Whalen's injury, the Golden Gophers have relied heavily on center Janel McCarville. The junior averages 15.2 ppg and 9.3 rpg since February 12. Sophomore Shannon Schonrock has chipped in 11.8 ppg in that span.
The winner of Thursday evening's game will play No. 3 Ohio State (19-8, 11-5 Big Ten) on Friday evening.