Feb. 15, 2006
Illinois Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Thursday is Northwestern's last home game of the 2005-06 season and the final time senior Ifeoma Okonkwo will play at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Come out and support Ifeoma and the team as they take on Illinois at 7 p.m.!
"Thursday is a special night for our team and Ifeoma," head coach Beth Combs said. "We want to honor her in the best way we can -- with a win. We look forward to playing hard, intense and making Foamy's night one to remember!"
Last Time Out
Northwestern fell to Indiana, 60-46, Sunday afternoon at the Assembly Hall. Sophomore Melissa Miller led the 'Cats with nine points.
The Wildcats came out on fire, knocking down seven of their first 10 shots to jump out to a 16-7 lead. Indiana answered with a run of its own, outscoring NU 9-3 over the next five minutes to take the lead, 20-19, at the seven-minute mark.
Miller scored a basket and hit a free throw and Nadia Bibbs nailed a three-pointer, helping the Wildcats to a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 25-21. Indiana's Cyndi Valentin ran off nine of her 18 first-half points, hitting back-to-back-to-back treys to boost IU to a 31-26 lead at the half.
The Hoosiers opened the second half on a 10-3 run, inflating the lead to 41-29 over the first three minutes. Northwestern kept fighting, shaving the lead to six on a three-pointer by Sara Stutz at the 13:42 point. The Hoosier defense held NU scoreless from the 10:23 mark until 4:27, allowing the lead to extend to 16 points.
Bibbs and Stutz both chipped in eight points. Kristin Cartwright, A.J. Glasauer, Ifeoma Okonkwo and Miller led NU with four rebounds.
Scouting Illinois
The Illini are on an eight-game losing streak after dropping a 78-52 decision to Penn State on Sunday at the Bryce Jordan Center. Illinois had three players in double-figures, led by Danyel Crutcher who recorded 18 points. Audrey Tabon and Erin Wigley joined Crutcher in double-figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Despite some recent struggles, senior guard Janelle Hughes has emerged as the team's most consistent scoring threat this season. She has scored in double-figures 17 times this season, including four out of the last six, and has led the Illini in scoring on 11 occasions. br>
The Series
Thursday will be the 54th meeting between these two in-state rivals with Northwestern leading the all-time series, 31-23. The Illini edged out NU, 64-55, the first time these two squads met back in January at Assembly Hall. Freshman Kristin Cartwright scored a career-high 13 points, while Ifeoma Okonkwo led all NU scorers with 16 points and tallied 11 rebounds, one of her seven double-doubles this season.
Senior Leading the Way
Not only has Ifeoma Okonkwo led the team in scoring on eight different occasions, but she has also led the team in rebounding in 13-of-24 games. The senior is fifth in the conference in rebounding, with 7.4 caroms per game and is tied for 10th in the conference in scoring with 13.9 ppg. Okonkwo has scored in double-figures in 14 games so far this season, including five games where she has eclipsed the 20-point plateau. For complete game notes, please see the pdf at the top of this page.