EVANSTON, Ill. -- Despite a furious second-half comeback, Northwestern's more-than-valiant effort fell victim to the hot-shooting No. 20/17 Iowa Hawkeyes at Welsh-Ryan Arena Thursday night, falling 102-99.
The two teams combined to make 32 3-point field goals, breaking the NCAA single-game record set by Ole Miss (17) and Bowling Green (14) on Nov. 26, 1999. Iowa connected on 19 of its 28 attempts from downtown (67.9 percent) Thursday night, while the Wildcats made 13 of their 18 efforts (72.2 percent). NU's 3-point FG shooting percentage fell just shy of setting a Joe McKeown-era record of 72.7 percent (8-of-11 vs. Duquesne on 3/8/10). It was the second time this season that Northwestern made 13 3-pointers and the first since Nov. 14, 2014 at Chicago State.
Chicago's Big Ten Team shot 53.7 percent overall from the field Thursday, while it out-rebounded Iowa, 35-27. Northwestern had been 5-0 when out-rebounding the opposition this season prior to the game against the Hawks.
Individually, NU's Nia Coffey poured in a career-high 35 points against the Hawkeyes, with 12 coming from beyond the arc. Her previous best was 29, which also came against Iowa on Feb. 10, 2014. Ashley Deary also set a new career high with 22 points for the Wildcats, while making all five of her attempts from 3-point range. Maggie Lyon netted 20 points for the second consecutive game for NU.
Iowa couldn't miss from downtown in the early going; the Hawkeyes hit four 3-pointers to open up a 12-4 lead just 3:23 into the game. On Northwestern's next possession, Lyon buried her first triple of the game to get her team back to within five. For Lyon, it marked her 25th consecutive game with at least one 3-point basket.
Iowa continued to connect from downtown with three more 3-pointers, helping to push the lead back to eight points, 23-15, at the 12:59 mark. At that point, the 'Cats began to make a serious push.
Coffey essentially put the Wildcats on her back and guided them on a 15-6 run over 4:24 to take their first lead of the night, 30-29. Coffey scored 18 of NU's first 30 points on 70-percent shooting from the field.
The visiting team returned to shoot the ball at a sizzling clip after Northwestern took its first lead. The Hawkeyes closed the half on a 29-11 run, finishing with half with 14 3-pointers, including seven from senior Melissa Dixon.
The intermission did little to cool off Iowa's long-range shooting. The Hawkeyes hit four more triples, with two by Dixon, in the first 3:23 of the second half to build up their lead to 23 points.
Northwestern continued to chip away with some of its own success from beyond the arc. Ashley Deary made her first three attempts from 3-point-land to help the Wildcats trim the deficit by nine points with 13:34 left.
The run continued and the Wildcats chopped what had been a 24-point deficit to just nine points once again with 11:52 remaining after Lyon made yet another triple from the top of the key. Lyon's basket forced Iowa to call a timeout and it capped a 10-0 run for the Purple and White.
The Wildcats steadily fought back, and when Deary connected from distance once again with 3:21 to go, it brought the home team to within four points, as close as they had been since the 8:06 mark in the first half. Iowa went ahead again by eight with 55 seconds to go, but 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions by Lyon and Coffey sliced it to four with 32.2.2 seconds to go.
Northwestern was unable to get one final stop when it needed one down the stretch. A layup by Dixon put the Black and Gold ahead by six before Coffey calmly drilled her fourth 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds to go to make it a one-possession game. The Hawkeyes were able to get the ball inbounded and dribble out the clock to hang on for a 102-99 victory.
Coffey pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Karly Roser handed out a season-high nine assists, while adding six points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. Deary and Christen Inman both handed out six assists, which for the latter, marks a career high. Northwestern's 28 assists marked a season high for the team.
Prior to the game, Lyon was presented with a commemorative basketball by McKeown and Vice President for Athletics and Recreation, Jim Phillips. During the game at Penn State she scored her 1,000th point in a Northwestern uniform. The team's active leading scorer owns 1,037 points after Thursday's game.
The Wildcats will be right back at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Feb. 1 to host the Minnesota Golden Gophers at 2 p.m. It will be the only regular-season meeting between the two teams. Tickets are available by calling 888-GO-PURPLE (467-8775) or visiting NUsports.com.
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