Michigan State Box Score
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EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The Wildcats turned their best shooting half of the season, a 64 percent effort from the field, but No. 24 Michigan State narrowly eked out a 68-63 victory Thursday night at the Breslin Center. Northwestern outscored the Spartans by seven in the second half, thanks to an 11-point second-half effort from senior A.J. Glasauer (Freiburg, Germany/Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium) and a seven-point contribution from Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
"That was a heck of a second half," head coach Beth Combs said. "To play them to within two points with a minute remaining at their place was huge for us. I am very proud of our squad tonight. It's a tribute to our team that we were able to make such a great comeback."
Down as many as 20 points in the first half, Northwestern entered halftime on an 8-0 run, cutting the lead to 36-24.
The Wildcats opened the second frame with the same momentum, using a 9-4 spurt, capped off by a 3-pointer by Beth Marshall (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), to close to within 42-33 with 15:00 remaining.
Nearly two minutes later, a trey by Cartwright cut the Spartan lead to six, 44-38. Four minutes passed with only one made basket, which proved to be the calm before a flurry of game-ending scoring. Over the remaining 9:34, the two squads combined for 45 points.
MSU increased the lead to 53-43, but Northwestern ran off six unanswered points to chop the difference to 53-49 with 5:41 remaining. The Spartans answered with three baskets, inflating the gap to eight with four minutes left.
Every time NSU seemed poised to seal the game, the 'Cats produced a score or a steal.
This time, a jumper by Cartwright and a steal by Marshall--which led to a three-point play by Stutz--hacked the lead to four. Glasauer nailed a clutch jumper with just under a minute to pull the 'Cats to within a bucket.
Northwestern was forced to foul the Spartans with :27 left after MSU pulled down an offensive board. It then became a test of making free throws for Michigan State. And make them they did, dialing up an 8-of-8 performance to pull out the victory.
NU mounted a scoring attack of its own over he remaining :27, as Glasauer knocked down two free throws and Marshall came up with a 3-pointer with :5 left to cut the lead to three.
Glasauer tallied a Wildcat-high 18 points while Julie Bielawski (Rogers, Ark./Rogers), Marshall and Cartwright all contributed 10 points. The last time four Wildcats scored in double-figures was on Dec. 18 against Georgia Tech.
Freshman Kaitlin McInerney (Oak Brook, Ill,/Benet Academy) led the way for NU on the glass, pulling down seven rebounds, while also helping contain MSU's 6-foot-9 Allyssa DeHaan.
Not only did Northwestern out-shoot MSU from the field, but it also bested the Green and White from beyond the arc, knocking down 6-of-14 (43 percent) from 3-point land. The Wildcats shot 77 percent from the charity stripe.
Northwestern is next in action this Sunday, Feb. 18, when it hosts Michigan in the final home game of the season. Sunday is also Senior Day for Glasauer and Holly Palin. Following Sunday's game, the Wildcats conclude the 2006-07 regular-season at Indiana on Thursday, Feb. 22.