Dec. 1, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Freshman Meshia Reed (Country Club Hills, Ill./Stockbridge (Ga.)) scored a career-high 20 points, thanks to a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point land, but it was not enough as the Wildcats fell to ACC foe Boston College in the championship game of the Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational presented by Double Tree. Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill./Carmel/Syracuse) joined Reed in double-figures with 11.
"I'm really proud of what we did tonight," head coach Beth Combs said. "We made some big shots when we needed to. Sometimes you come up short, but we're really proud of what we did tonight."
Boston College dominated early, shooting 50 percent from the field through the first 10 minutes while holding Northwestern scoreless for just over four minutes during that span. The Eagles held an 18-4 advantage before a three-pointer by Eckhart at the 10:34 mark broke NU's drought.
Boston College inflated the lead to 17 with 5:38 remaining before Northwestern used back-to-back treys by Erin Dickerson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and Reed to cut the deficit to 11 with just over three minutes remaining. The Wildcats went on an 14-5 run to slash the lead to 36-30 with :30 seconds remaining. A layup right before the buzzer by Stefanie Murphy gave Boston College a 38-30 halftime lead.
The Eagles built what looked like an insurmountable 18-point advantage midway through the second half. But Northwestern slowly chopped at the lead, outscoring Boston College 15-4 over the next four minutes. Reed spearheaded the comeback, draining two of her five treys during the spurt and putting the 'Cats within six, 59-53, with 4:30 left.
Both teams played evenly over the next two minutes before Boston College hit 5-of-6 from the charity stripe to take an 11-point lead with just under a minute remaining. Reed did everything she could to lead NU, hitting two treys in the next :45 seconds, but it was not enough as BC claimed the victory and the tournament title. Reed was named to the event's All-Tournament team for her effort.
Nadia Bibbs (Chicago, Ill./Hillcrest) led the 'Cats on the board with nine. Northwestern shot a season-high 53 percent from beyond the arc (9-of-17).
2007 Mildred and Roger L. White Invitational All-Tournament Team
Latisha Luckett, Central Michigan
Andrea Reed, Wagner
Meshia Reed, Northwestern
Carolyn Swords, Boston College
Stefanie Murphy, Boston College--Most Valuable Player
The Wildcats are next in action on Thursday, Dec. 6 when they host Big East rival Seton Hall at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.