Dec. 19, 2006
Utah Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern heads to the mountains for its final nonconference showdown of the season when it takes on Utah in a 1 p.m. CT tip Wednesday. The 'Cats (6-6) are looking to enter the Big Ten season with an above-.500 record, after falling to Georgia Tech, 82-68, Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Last Time Out...
Georgia Tech used a career-best 36 points from senior Stephanie Higgs en route to an 82-68 victory against the Wildcats (6-6) Monday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Four Wildcats -- Kaitlin McInerney, A.J. Glasauer, Sara Stutz and Kristin Cartwright -- scored in double-figures.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 12-2 lead but Georgia Tech went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to two at the 11:36 mark.
Back-to-back three pointers by Kristin Cartwright put NU up 22-17 with just under 10 minutes to play. But the Yellow Jackets chipped away and outscored NU 16-11 the rest of the way to pull the score to an even 33 at the half.
Melissa Miller and Cartwright led all Wildcats with eight points at the break.
Georgia Tech opened the second half on a 5-0 run in the first minute to sieze a 38-33 lead -- its first lead of the game.
A layup by Glasauer gave the 'Cats a 43-42 lead with 14:34 remaining. But the Wildcats went cold from the floor, and did not record a bucket for the next five minutes. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech scored 13 points to inflate the lead to 55-43 with 9:33 left.
A bucket by Glasauer sparked a 6-0 run that pulled NU to within six, 55-49, with just under eight minutes remaining.
The score see-sawed back and forth before Tech went on an 11-6 spurt in the last 3:25 to secure the victory.
McInerney finished with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-8 from the field. Glasauer recorded her 11th double-figure game, notching 13 points -- all of which came in the second half. Stutz contributed 11 points, six assists and five rebounds while Cartwright added 10 points.
Miller added a team-high six rebounds to go along with an eight-point effort on the afternoon.
Scouting the Utes
Utah is coming off a 66-63 victory against Montana State, which pushed its record just above .500, at 6-5. The Utes, who are coming off an Elite Eight NCAA Tournament performance, went on a four-game winning streak at the end of November and into December before losing to Stanford, 74-47. Utah is led by Morgan Warburton, who is averaging 14.8 ppg. Joh-Teena Filipe posted a game-high 24 points against Montana State on Tuesday, while Warburton contributed 14. Kalee Whipple leads Utah down low, grabbing 6.2 rpg.
The Series with Utah
This will be the second time in the history of both schools that these two teams have met. Northwestern won the only contest, an 88-65 victory on Nov. 30, 1984 in the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational.
Northwestern Nuggets
Score Early and Often
Northwestern is 6-1 on the year when tied or leading at the half. When scoring 60 points or more, the Wildcats are 5-2.
Off to a Good Start
The Wildcats' 67-53 victory over Princeton put the season win total at six, matching last year's win total for the entire season.
Setting an Example
Northwestern's upperclassmen have led the 'Cats in scoring in 11 of 12 games so far this season. Senior captain A.J. Glasauer has led NU in scoring six times, while junior Sara Stutz has been the top scorer four times. Fellow classmate Melissa Miller has topped the scoring column once.
On the Big Stage
Northwestern ranks 19th in the nation in FG percentage defense and in assists, according to the most recent NCAA statistics (through Dec. 10). The Wildcats also rank in the top 60 (out of 324 Div. I teams) in scoring defense (42nd), rebound margin (52nd) and blocked shots per game (57th).
Glasauer Leading the Way
Senior captain A.J. Glasauer has been the Wildcats' leading scorer in six out of NU's first 12 contests. She is averaging a team-best 13.8 points per game, while dishing out a team-high 43 assists. The Freiburg, Germany native is shooting 40 percent from the field, including a team-best 16-of-38 (42 percent) from beyond the arc. Glasauer is also connecting at the charity stripe, knocking down 30-of-40 (75 percent) free throws. She also is second in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio with 2.22 (18 turnovers compared to 40 assists).
Coming out of the Blocks
Freshman Kaitlin McInerney has made a statement early in her career, shooting a team-best 61 percent (45-of-73) from the field while also pulling down 6.6 rpg. She recorded the first double-double of her career on Dec. 16 against Nebraska, recording 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. McInerney is third in the Big Ten in FG percentage and 12th in blocked shots. The Oak Brook native has pulled down 79 rebounds, second only to Melissa Miller (91).
Conference Call
The Wildcats are atop the Big Ten standings in several statistical categories. NU is second in defensive rebounds (28.64) and assists (17.27), third in the conference in assists (17.27) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.98) and fourth in FG percentage defense (35 percent). The 'Cats rank fifth in 3-point FG percent defense (28 percent) and blocked shots (4.09). For a full rundown of all conference categories, please see page 4 of this release.
Miller Time
Junior Melissa Miller dumped in 13 points and 13 rebounds against Illinois-Chicago on Nov. 29, marking Northwestern's first double-double of the season. Miller followed that performance with a 10-point, 12-rebound encore against Princeton in the first game of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational. The junior is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 7.6 rpg while also chipping in 6.6 ppg.