March 3, 2011
Box Score
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Site: Indianapolis, Ind. (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Score: Northwestern 53, Minnesota 44
Records: NU (18-12, 6-10 Big Ten), Minnesota (12-18, 4-12 Big Ten)
Next NU Event: 5 p.m. CT Friday, March 4 -- at Big Ten Tournament vs. No. 1 seeded Michigan State (Conseco Fieldhouse)
Big Ten's Tournament Central Page
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Sophomore Kendall Hackney played the role of superwoman, pacing Northwestern with 22 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks as the Wildcats claimed a 53-44 triumph over ninth-seeded Minnesota in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday evening. The result not only gives NU its 18th victory of the season--matching last year's total--but it is the 'Cats' first win in the event since the 2000 season.
"It was ugly for a while, but I thought our team did a tremendous job of playing the last three minutes like a tournament team," head coach Joe McKeown. "I was really proud how we closed the game."
Northwestern attacked the tin aggressively out of the gates, establishing a 10-3 early lead, thanks to six points from Hackney. Defensively, the Wildcats befuddled Minnesota for the first 10 minutes, allowing just two field goals and inducing eight Gopher turnovers.
Hackney was the engine behind NU's offense from the get-go, dumping in 10 points to lead the Wildcats, who held an 18-16 lead heading into the break. Despite Northwestern's offensive success early, the 'Cats were held scoreless for the last 6:09 as the Gophers inched back into the game.
Minnesota rattled off two buckets to open the second half, deadlocking the score at 20 in the first three minutes. It seemed as if the Gophers were ready to make a run, but Northwestern took its cue once again from Hackney, who sparked a 10-0 spurt with a much-deserved pair of free throws after a hard take to the bucket. But as briskly as NU composed the run, which set the tally at 30-20, Minnesota answered with four quick points to make it a 30-24 affair a the 12:43 mark.
The Gophers continued to threaten Northwestern's advantage over the next eight minutes and pulled to within one, 43-42, with 4:28 left. But the Wildcats proceeded to turn in one of the best three-minute stretches of the season, exploding for a 10-2 run thanks to two huge "and-1's" from Brittany Orban and Amy Jaeschke to pull away for the win.
Jaeschke turned in her 14th double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Allison Mocchi hauled down nine rebounds and dished out five assists while playing a season-high 28 minutes. Orban and Hackney added eight rebounds each as Northwestern won the battle on the glass, 43-37.
The Wildcats face top-seeded Michigan State at 5 p.m. CT tomorrow (Friday) in the quarterfinal action. MSU, the regular-season Big Ten champs, received a first-round bye. The game will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
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