March 4, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Northwestern outscored and outplayed Michigan in the second half, but could not overcome a deep first-half hole, falling to the Wolverines 67-54 Thursday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Junior Amy Jaeschke led Northwestern with 17 points and five blocks while senior Kristin Cartwright and freshman Kendall Hackney each added 12.
Michigan jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first four minutes, but a turnaround bank shot by Jaeschke at the 15:54 point kicked off Northwestern's scoring. Five-straight points from Cartwright pulled NU to within 11-7 with 13:54 on the clock.
Michigan held Northwestern scoreless for the next eight minutes while extending its lead to 14, 25-9. A jumper by Jaeschke at the 5:42 mark put the Wildcats into double figures. Cartwright followed with a triple to make the difference 11 with 4:07 left in the half.
The Wildcats could only muster five points the rest of the way while Michigan turned in 13 to take a 38-16 lead at the break. Jaeschke led NU with nine points.
Michigan continued to excel offensively and made it a 26-point game just two minutes into the second stanza. But Northwestern buckled down defensively, holding the Wolverines to just one bucket over the next five minutes, forcing UM to come up empty on 10-straight possessions while inducing three miscues. Meanwhile, five points from Beth Marshall keyed a 16-point run to make it a 10-point affair with 9:07 left.
The Wolverines pulled ahead by 14 four minutes later, but the Wildcats would not go away. A triple by Hackney cut the lead to 11, 54-43, with just under five minutes left. The two teams continued to jockey for position, looking for the chance to break away and either make a run to get back into the game or to put the contest away. Three minutes later, a trey from Cartwright once again made the difference 10 with 2:08 left.
The basket-swapping continued over the next minute and the 'Cats once again found themselves within 10 with 1:16 remaining. But that was as close as Northwestern would come, as Michigan hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.
Northwestern dominated in the paint, outscoring Michigan 24-16 and held the Wolverines to 25 percent shooting in the second half.
The Wildcats (16-14) await postseason announcements on Monday, March 15.