Feb. 2, 2007
Michigan Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Wildcats look to repeat history when they travel to Michigan for a 1 p.m. CT Sunday contest. Last season, Northwestern entered Crisler Arena in search of its first conference victory of the season, and this year, the circumstances are the same. NU (6-17, 0-10) is optimistic, despite a 66-42 home loss to No. 5 Ohio State on Thursday.
"We are able to move forward from the Ohio State loss on a very positive note," head coach Beth Combs said. "We achieved some smaller goals for our team and can build on that against the Wolverines. I'm excited to see us carry some momentum into Sunday."
Last Time Out ...
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 and Kaitlin McInerney scored 12 and 10 points, respectively, to lead the 'Cats. Cartwright's effort was a season-high.
The 'Cats hung with Ohio State early, matching their buckets while forcing tough shots. A jumper by Melissa Miller 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. Northwester'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 and Nadia Bibbs dished out four assists each.
Scouting the Wolverines
Michigan brings a 9-14, 2-8 mark into the showdown against the 'Cats. The Wolverines jumped out to a 4-1 record to start the season, and have gone through losing spurts, none of which have been more than four games. Four losses over the course of the season have been by six points or less and UM has already won two conference contests, two more than last season. The Wolverines are led by freshman Krista Phillips, a 6-6 center, who is averaging 8.8 ppg and has pulled down a team-high 4.7 rpg.
The Series with Michigan
Northwestern holds a 32-17 advantage against the Maize and Blue in the all-time series. The 'Cats have defeated Michigan the last two years, most recently a 20-point victory at Crisler on Jan. 26, 2006. Then-senior Ifeoma Okonkwo exploded for 29 points in the victory, including a 13-of-14 effort from the free throw line, which earned her a spot in the NU record book for free throws attempted and free throw percentage. Nadia Bibbs, A.J. Glasauer and Kristin Cartwright all joined Okonkwo in double-digits.
Score Early and Play Some "D"
Northwestern is 5-0 on the year when leading at the half. The Wildcats' are 6-4 when holding opponents to less than 70 points.
Playing the Best to be the Best
According to collegeRPI.com, Northwestern is playing the 28th strongest schedule in the country. The Wildcats' schedule includes six opponents in last season's AP top-25, and seven that are currently in the top-25, or receiving votes. Those seven include No. 5 Ohio State, No. 12 Purdue, No. 22 Mississippi, No. 23 Michigan State and No. 25 Nebraska. DePaul and Utah were among those receiving votes.
Taking Care of the Rock
Northwestern's 12 turnovers against Ohio State on Jan. 14 was the lowest of the season. The 'Cats forced a dozen Buckeye mishaps as well.
On the Upswing
The Wildcats' 67-53 victory over Princeton put the season win total at six, matching the win total for the entire 2005-06 year.
Is That Purple I See?
Yes. Head coach Beth Combs sported an unusual "new-do" for the Jan. 7 game vs. Iowa. Combs accepted a dare to dye her hair purple if there were 3,000 pre-sold tickets to Sunday's game. The goal was reached and Combs' hair was a lovely shade of violet.
Stutz Finding Double-Digits
Junior Sara Stutz has consistently scored in double figures throughout the season, tallying double digits in 17 of NU's 23 games. The Glenview, Ill., native is second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and third in FG percentage (43 percent). Stutz has also dished out 55assists.
Setting an Example
Northwestern's upperclassmen have led the 'Cats in scoring in 19 of 23 games so far this season. Senior captain A.J. Glasauer has led NU in scoring 12 times, while junior Sara Stutz has been the top scorer six times. Fellow classmate Melissa Miller has topped the scoring column three times while Nadia Bibbs has been the top scorer once.
On the Big Stage
In the most recent NCAA stats (1/28/07), Northwestern ranks 30th in the nation in assists, averaging 16.3 per contest. A.J. Glasauer leads NU with 74 while Nadia Bibbs has dished out 70. Both distributed a team-high four assists against the Buckeyes on Thursday.
Glasauer Leading the Way
Senior captain A.J. Glasauer has been the Wildcats' leading scorer in 12 out of NU's 23 contests. She is averaging a team-best 12.1 points per game, while dishing out a team-high 74 assists. Glasauer recorded a season-high eight assists in Northwestern's 65-63 loss to Minnesota. She is also hitting a team-best 24-of-63 (38 percent) from beyond the arc and is third in the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio with 1.48 (50 turnovers compared to 74 assists).
Coming out of the Blocks
Freshman Kaitlin McInerney has made a statement early in her career, shooting a team-best 52 percent (67-of-128) from the field while also pulling down 5.5 rpg. She recorded the first double-double of her career on Dec. 16 against Nebraska, scoring 10 points and pulling down 12 rebounds. McInerney is 13th in the conference in blocked shots (1.00). The Oak Brook, Ill., native has been the 'Cats leading rebounder in six games so far this season.
Glasauer Golden From The Line
Senior A.J. Glasauer's 11-of-14 performance from the free-throw line at Utah on Dec. 20 ranks second in the Big Ten for free-throws made and first in attempts.
Miller Time
Junior Melissa Miller poured in a career-high 16 points against Utah on Dec. 20. Miller registered 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 6.0 rpg while also contributing 6.9 ppg.
Anucha Browne To Be Spotlighted By Big Ten
February is Black History Month and the Big Ten Conference announced its celebration of African-Americans on Big Ten campuses. During the month, the League's website (www.bigten.org) will feature a story on a male and female student-athlete from each institution. Northwestern's two outstanding African-American student-athletes the Conference chose to spotlight are Anucha Browne-Sanders and Ron Burton.
Guest Coaching
At every home Big Ten game this season, the Wildcats will select an honorary coach of the game. Guest coaches can include staff members and members of the faculty. The guest coaches will be announced during starting lineups, participate in the pre-game meal, sit with the team on the bench, attend shoot around and warm-ups and be in the locker room for the pre-game talk.
Summer Travelin'
Two Wildcats were busy honing their skills overseas this summer. A.J. Glasauer was Northwestern's representative on the Big Ten Foreign Tour that played in Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The squad went 4-0 over the 11-day excursion. Junior point guard Nadia Bibbs was named to the Mexican National team that traveled to Cartagena de Indias, Colombia to compete in the Central American Games.
Future Looking Bright
Beth Combs signed arguably the best recruiting class in Northwestern history this season. Highlighting the class is Amy Jaeschke, who was ranked as high as No. 14 by Blue Scout.com. Savannah Stedman, Shantina Boyd and Meisha Reed complete the signing class. Jenny Eckart, a transfer from Syracuse, will also be eligible to play next season. She averaged 9.9 ppg. and started every game at the point for the Orange last season. For more information, please see page five of this release.
Live From Welsh-Ryan Arena
All home games will be broadcast LIVE on NUSports.com via College Sports Online's All-Access. To watch the games, navigate to the audio/video page on NUSports.com, where a link to the broadcasts will appear shortly the game. All-Access is a premium service offering live and tape-delayed broadcasts of many Northwestern sports and includes exclusive interviews, highlights, features and press conference content.
Sticking Around
More than half of this year's roster is comprised of in-state products. Six Wildcats--Nadia Bibbs (Chicago), Lakhiyia Hicks (Rockford), Erin Dickerson (Chicago), Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest), Sara Stutz (Glenview) and Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook)--hail from the Land of Lincoln.