Feb. 8, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern exhibited stellar defense, holding No. 24 Michigan State to just 55 points, but the Spartans held on for the win, 55-48, Thursday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Three Wildcats scored in double-figures, led by freshman Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook, Ill./Benet Academy) who dumped in 15 points.
"Our defense did a great job tonight," head coach Beth Combs said. "I am proud of our hustle and energy. I thought when they came out in the second half and got us back on our heels, we responded and in the last 10 minutes, we were able to fight back. We did a lot of good things this evening."
The Wildcats were down only seven at the break, thanks to an aggressive start and a solid defensive effort. But Michigan State scored 11 unanswered points to take a 40-22 three minutes into the second half. But the Wildcats responded a few minutes later with an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 with 12 minutes remaining.
Over the next four minutes, the two teams matched each other's scoring, until the Wildcats exploded on a 10-0 run over the following four minutes to pull to within four, 48-44, with two minutes left.
But that is as close as the 'Cats would come, as MSU's Mia Johnson hit four free throws to inflate the lead to 52-44 with 1:06 remaining. Northwestern was forced to foul, and MSU hit the free-bees to seal its 18th victory of the season.
Northwestern came out of the gates ready to play, jumping on the Spartans early and forcing them to play catch up for most of the first half. The 'Cats led by as many as nine points in the opening stanza, capitalizing on 13 MSU turnovers, which translated to 10 points.
Though NU shot just 21 percent from the field, it stepped up performance in other areas, pulling down an impressive 20 offensive rebounds and inducing 23 MSU turnovers. The 'Cats recorded 11 steals while turning over the ball only 15 times themselves. Both teams scored 26 points in the second half.
McInerney's game-high 15 points nearly matched her career-high for points (16) and she led the Wildcats in rebounding with seven boards, four of which were offensive. Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) joined McInerney in double-figures with 10 points each. After a career-best 11 rebounds against Michigan on Sunday, Cartwright continued to perform on the glass, recovering seven boards against the Spartans.
The Wildcats are next in action on Sunday when they host Penn State in a 2 p.m. contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.