Jan. 21, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Northwestern battled hard and pulled within four with 22 seconds remaining, but Indiana held on to claim a 61-55 victory Thursday evening at Assembly Hall. Junior Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) recorded the 1,000th point of her career and she paced the 'Cats (12-7, 3-5) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Fellow classmate Meshia Reed (Country Club Hills, Ill./Stockbridge (Ga.)) joined Jaeschke in double-figures with 12.
Indiana jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first three minutes as the Wildcats searched for their rhythm offensively. A Kendall Hackney (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) triple from the top of the key put Northwestern on the board and a pair of free-throws by Orban coupled with a second three, this time by Jaeschke, pulled the 'Cats to within four, 12-8, at the 13:29 mark.
The Hoosiers, who shot nearly 40 percent from the field throughout the first half, strung together a 9-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 21-10 lead. Both teams mirrored each other offensively over the ensuing four minutes until back-to-back buckets by Jaeschke cut the Indiana lead to seven, 26-19, with just under three minutes left in the half.
Each squad mustered just one more score the rest of the way, setting the halftime tally at 28-21 in favor of the Hoosiers. Jaeschke led Northwestern with 11 points, while Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) hauled down a first-half high seven boards.
The beginning of the second half proved to be a seven-minute period of runs. The Wildcats found the scoring column first to open the frame, and proceeded to construct a 5-0 run to make it a two-point affair, 28-26, at the 18-minute mark. Indiana strung together a 5-0 spurt of its own to pull ahead, 33-26.
A three-point play the old fashioned way by Reed capped off yet another 5-0 run--this time by NU--once again making it a two-point contest, 33-31, with 14 minutes remaining.
Indiana used three triples to build a 10-point lead, 43-33, at the 10:10 mark. The Hoosiers continued to maintain at least a 10-point cushion throughout the next five minutes, until a Hackney put-back and a layup by Jaeschke cut it to eight, 53-45.
The two teams exchanged buckets until a layup by Jaeschke cut the deficit to seven, 57-50, at the two-minute mark. A Brittany Orban (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) triple from the corner made it a four-point game, 57-53, with 1:22 on the clock. After a missed opportunity down the floor offensively, Northwestern was forced to foul and Jamie Braun knocked down 4-of-4 from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the victory for IU.
The Wildcats continue their road swing when they travel to Iowa City for a 4 p.m. Sunday bout with the Hawkeyes. The game will be streamed live at www.bigtennetwork.com.