Nov. 22, 2009 Photo Gallery
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) made good on a layup a minute and a half into the game and Northwestern never relinquished the lead, besting IPFW, 78-58, Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Jaeschke led all scorers with 18 points and nine rebounds while freshman Kendall Hackney (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) added 12 points and sophomore Maggie Mocchi (Wheeling, Ill./Buffalo Grove) chipped in 10. Ten Wildcats found the scoring column as the team improves to 3-0 on the season. It is the program's best start since the 2006-07 campaign.
"I thought Kendall [Hackney] did a great job of hitting her shots in the first half," Head Coach Joe McKeown said. "She was making [IPFW] pay for doubling-up on Amy [Jaeschke], and she can do that all year long."
Hackney came of the bench to ignite NU's offense, scoring seven points a minute and a half to give the 'Cats a 13-4 lead at the 14:21 mark. Northwestern's defense befuddled IPFW, holding the Mastadons to just six points over the first nine minutes and forcing four turnovers.
The Wildcats continued to flourish on the offensive end over the course of the half and extended their advantage to 14 points on a jumper by Hackney at the 3:40 mark. A mini IPFW spurt closed the margin to single-digits, but seven points in under a minute gave NU a 40-26 lead and momentum heading in to the break.
Northwestern converted 13 Mastodon miscues into 21 points while getting 17 points from their non-starters. Hackney had a strong hand in the bench points, leading all scorers at the half with 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field. Beth Marshall (Fishers, Ind./ Hamilton Southeastern), who got her first start of the season, responded with a solid five assists and four steals in the opening frame.
Northwestern opened the second stanza on a 7-2 run, extending the lead to 49-28 two minutes into the half. The Wildcats continued to hold the Mastodons at arms-length throughout the remainder of the game, never allowing the lead to dip below 17 points from that mark forward.
Individually, Jaeschke added four assists and five blocks and recorded her third-consecutive game in double-figures. As a team, NU finished with 33 points off the bench and dominated down low, outscoring IPFW in the paint, 34-14.
Northwestern is next in action on Tuesday when it hosts intra-city rival DePaul in an 8 p.m. contest. The game is preceded by the men's basketball game against Liberty, which is set to tip at 5:30 p.m.