Nov. 24, 2004
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EVANSTON, Ill. - After two games in four days, Northwestern returns home Wednesday for the home opener vs. Western Michigan. The 'Cats, coming off a 89-55 loss at West Virginia, are looking for their first win of the season.
The Broncos are also 0-2 this season after dropping games to Boston College (50-71) and Central Connecticut State (49-58) in last weekend's Michigan State Spartan Classic. Carrie Moore currently leads Western Michigan with 10.5 points per game. Ashley Owens is averaging a team-leading 8.0 rebounds per game.
The Wildcats started three freshmen vs. the Mountaineers on Monday: Kelly Rae Finley (Edina, Minn./The Breck School), Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Minn./The Breck School) and Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South). The trio of rookies combined for 19 points, including 10 from Stutz, who played a team-leading 31 minutes.
"We had three freshmen on the floor much of the time and they all got better as the game went on," said Combs. "We look to play the young kids a lot this season and get them the experience they will need to play at a high level."
For the second consecutive game, senior Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) scored in the double figures (12) and Samantha McComb (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) led NU with helpers (five). Sarah Kwasinski grabbed a team-high eight boards.
Morrison and Kwasinski lead the 'Cats in scoring during this young season, averaging 13.0 and 11.0 ppg, respectively. Both also average a team-leading 6.0 boards per game.
Versus their opponents, the Wildcats have been shooting .415 overall (49-118). The opposition has gone 63-140 (.450), including a 25-55 (.455) mark from beyond the arc.
Looking Ahead...
Wednesday's game will be the first of four to be played in Evanston in two weeks. After playing Chicago-rival DePaul Nov. 27 in Chicago, the 'Cats will return to Welsh-Ryan for three-consecutive games: vs. Kentucky on Dec. 1 and vs. Houston and Virginia the weekend of Dec. 3 in the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational. The only other opponent NU will face at home in the month of December is Illinois-Chicago.