Dec. 1, 2006
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern built an early lead behind a stifling defense and never looked back, downing Princeton, 67-53, Friday night in opening-round action of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational. The Wildcats (6-1) face regional foe Northern Illinois (4-2) in the title game at approx. 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Four Wildcats scored in double-digits, led by Sara Stutz's (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) 13 points. Fellow classmate Melissa Miller (Minneapolis, Minn./The Breck School) posted 10 points and 12 rebounds en route to her second-consecutive double-double of the season. A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium) finished with 10 points, while Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook, Ill./Benet Academy) also tallied 10 points.
"Miller played well," head coach Beth Combs said. "She was a beast on the boards. I am really psyched for her and if she continues to set the tone, we're going to end up doing some good things this year."
The Wildcats started the game quickly on both ends of the court. Stutz and Miller combined for eight of Northwestern's first ten points as the Wildcats built an early 10-5 lead.
The defense fed off of Nadia Bibbs' early aggressive play, as the junior point guard forced two turnovers in the first four minutes.
Northwestern pressured Princeton into six miscues in the first eight minutes to inflate the lead to 10.
Northwestern held a 36-27 lead at halftime, behind 14 forced turnovers.
A.J. Glasauer led the way for the Wildcats in the second half. The senior captain hit a three-pointer with 16:44 left in the second half to put Northwestern up 42-29. Though Glasauer scored all 11 of her points in the second half, they were timely buckets. With Princeton threatening late in the second half, she scored four- straight points to give Northwestern a 12-point advantage.
Princeton began to threaten halfway through the second period when Meagan Cowher scored with 9:36 left to cut the Wildcats' lead to eight points--their smallest deficit of the half.
Glasauer ran off six out of NU's next eight points to boost the lead to 16 with 5:17 remaining.
The Wildcats never let the Tigers back into the game, as a lay-up by McInerney set the lead at 19 points with two minutes remaining.
Northwestern held Princeton to their lowest scoring total of the season and forced 22 turnovers. With the victory, the Wildcats match their 2005-06-season win total.
NU will face Northern Illinois--who defeated Cincinnati, 81-73--in the championship game of the Invitational. Tip is set for 30 minutes following the 2 p.m. consolation game.
"The stakes are high heading into tomorrow afternoon," Combs said. "We're really excited to get back on the court and play the Huskies,"