Jan. 18, 2009
IOWA CITY, IOWA --- Three Wildcats tallied double-figures but Iowa capitalized on its home court advantage and shot 50 percent from the field en route to a 74-46 win Sunday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Freshman Brittany Orban (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) led NU with 13 points, while Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) and Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Jaeschke and Cartwright added a team-high six rebounds.
Wildcats jumped out to an early 7-2 lead before Iowa rattled off eight-straight points to take a 14-7 advantage with 12:17 on the clock. Northwestern's scrambling defense forced six Hawkeye turnovers in the first nine minutes of play, including three in four trips down the court over a two-minute span. On the half, Iowa committed 10 miscues.
A layup by Cartwright off a screen with 11:07 on the clock ended Northwestern's six-minute scoring drought and put NU within five, 14-9. Two more free throws by the junior made it a one-possession game with 9:20 left.
But Iowa used some quick releases offensively to beat Northwestern's swirling defense and go on a 6-0 run before a mid-range jumper by Jaeschke snapped the Hawkeye spurt at the 5:40 mark.
Four different Wildcats scored over the remaining 4:22 to close the half on an 11-2 run and set the score at 29-24 in favor of the home team. Orban led Northwestern with eight points at the break, thanks to an unblemished 3-of-3 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line. Jaeschke and Cartwright each contributed six points.
Orban converted on a layup to open the second half and pull the game within three, but Iowa answered with an 8-0 run over the next three minutes to advance the score to 38-26.
The Hawks continued to build their lead, thanks to a 51 percent shooting clip and 11 second-half Northwestern turnovers. Iowa exploded for 45 second-half points to secure the win.
The Wildcats are next in action on Thursday, Jan. 22 when they host Michigan State in a 7 p.m. contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena.