Feb. 1, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Ohio State used a 49 percent shooting effort from the field to down the Wildcats, 66-42, Thursday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook, Ill./Benet Academy) scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the 'Cats.
"We talked about this being a new season for us," head coach Beth Combs said. "I thought we had some unbelievable hustle plays. We beat them on the offensive boards, and we turned them over 17 times and only had 10 turnovers. Those are things that we've talked about over and over and if we can do that against the No. 5 team in the country, then this is something we can build with."
The 'Cats hung with Ohio State early, matching their buckets while forcing tough shots. A jumper by Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Minn./The Breck School) gave the 'Cats a 9-8 advantage with 14:23 remaining, but that was the last time Northwestern possessed the lead.
Ohio State went on a 10-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 16-9 advantage.
The Wildcats surged for a 7-2 run to close out the half and pull the score to 36-20. Cartwright led NU with eight points while McInerney pulled down a team-high five rebounds. Northwestern's defense forced 10 first-half Buckeye turnovers, compared to its six.
Ohio State opened the half on a 14-4 run, dashing any hopes the Wildcats had of challenging the Buckeyes. Northwestern kept plugging away, however, and constructed a 7-2 spurt midway through the second half to pull the score to 54-33 but OSU remained in control.
Northwestern forced 17 Buckeye miscues and picked OSU's pocket 11 times. The Wildcats showed heart and tenacity all night, recording 18 second-chance points compared to Ohio State's 12.
In addition to leading the 'Cats in points, Cartwright chipped in four rebounds. McInerney pulled down a team-high six rebounds to compliment her 10 points and added three steals on the evening. A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium) and Nadia Bibbs (Chicago, Ill./Boston College) dished out four assists each.
The Wildcats are next in action when they travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in a 1 p.m. CT contest on Sunday.