Oct. 31, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Head coach Beth Combs and the Wildcats will take inventory Thursday night when they face the Australian-based Showtime Skins in a 7 p.m. game at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The contest is the first and only exhibition of the 2007-08 campaign and will serve as a prequel to the team's season-opener against Dayton at 7 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Nov. 9 in the WSF Classic in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
"I'm very excited to put our team on the floor against someone different," Combs said. "We've seen some good things in practice, but it will be nice to see how those things transfer into a game situation. I know the team is ready and excited to get in `game mode'.
Showtime Basketball is an Australian-based squad that will play other area teams on their week-long tour of the United States. Northwestern is the first stop for Showtime, followed by Illinois-Chicago, Valparaiso, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio University and Eastern Kentucky.
Northwestern will officially open the 2007-08 season on Friday, Nov. 9 at the WSF Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. against the Dayton Flyers. The 'Cats take on Western Michigan on Saturday Nov. 10 before meeting host New Mexico on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 3 p.m. (CT).
Preseason Points
Stutz, Marshall and Eckhart Named 2007-08 Team Captains
Senior Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) and sophomores Beth Marshall (Fishers, Ind./Fishers) and Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel/Syracuse) have been named the 2007-08 team captains, head coach Beth Combs announced.
Stutz has started 80 out of 88 games in her collegiate career, taking a leadership role on the floor from an array of positions throughout her years at NU. She is the team's leading returning scorer, averaging 11.0 ppg and 4.5 rpg last season. She has also amassed 200 assists in three years and is a career 72.5 percent free throw shooter. The 6-0 guard from Glenview, Ill. is a learning and organizational change major who also is minoring in business institutions.
Marshall started at the point guard position the last 11 games of her freshman campaign while seeing action in all 30 contests. The 5-5 guard from Fishers, Ind., was the floor general throughout the season, frequently providing a spark by means of a steal or key three-pointer in clutch situations.
While Eckhart is a new face on the floor, she is no stranger to the Wildcat program. The 5-8 sophomore transferred from Syracuse and has sat out the past year due to NCAA transfer rules. In that time, however, the Libertyville native has earned the respect of her teammates and will continue leading the squad from the point position once her year-in-residence is completed. Eckhart averaged 9.9 ppg her freshman year at Syracuse and led the team in three-pointers (37) made and three-point percentage (33.9).
Four Wildcats Earn Iron Cat Strength and Conditioning Honor
Senior Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook), junior Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), sophomore Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel/Syracuse) and freshman Shantina Boyd (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook) earned Northwestern's Iron Cat award for entering the season in optimal strength and conditioning shape. The title is based on testing scores of the hang clean, squat, bench, vertical jump, 40-yd dash, 20-yd shuttle, 300yd shuttle, push-ups and pull-ups.