March 4, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern and Wisconsin battle in the first game of the 2009 Big Ten Tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. CT at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. The game is being televised live on the Big Ten Network, with Mark Neely calling the action and Mary Murphy providing insight as the color commentator.
The Wildcats, seeded 10th, enter the contest with an overall record of 7-22 and a conference mark of 3-15. Seventh-seeded Wisconsin brings a 16-13, 6-12 record to the table. The winner will play second-seeded Michigan State at 10:30 a.m. CT Friday. The Spartans earned a first-round bye.
Wildcat Tweets ... What You Need To Know About The 'Cats
The last time Northwestern won three conference games was in the 2002-03 season. The Wildcats went 3-15 in Big Ten play and 7-22 overall.
The Wildcats fell one win short of recording a .500 record at home (7-9); something they have not done since the 1997-98 season.
Sophomore Amy Jaeschke was tabbed a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a third-team all-league pick by the coaches on Monday. Jaeschke becomes the first Wildcat to earn second-team honors since Megan Chawansky did it in the 1998-99 season.
Freshman Brittany Orban has led Northwestern in scoring in five out of the last 10 games and is averaging 10.1 ppg during that span. She is also second in field goal percentage, connecting on 44.6 percent of her attempts.
Amy Jaeschke is currently fifth in the nation in blocked shots with 3.21 per outing. She currently has 93 blocks, which places her atop the single-season blocks list in the Wildcat record books. Her nine-block performance against Texas Southern on Dec. 16 was a Big Ten season high and a Northwestern single-game high.
Jaeschke was named the Big Ten's Player of the Week on Jan. 6. It was the first time the 'Cats were awarded Big Ten Player of the Week since the 1996-97 season.
For complete game notes, please click on the PDF above.