Northwestern Strives for Fourth Straight Win Wednesday at Purdue

Feb. 10, 2015

Game Photo

 Northwestern (17-6, 7-5 B1G) at Purdue (10-13, 3-9 B1G)
 Date  Wednesday, Feb. 11 | 6:00 p.m. CST
 Location  Mackey Arena  | West Lafayette, Ind.
 Watch Live  BTN Plus on BTN2GO
 Listen Live  WNUR - 89.3 FM
 Live Stats  GameTracker
 Preview Interviews   |
 Social Media  @nuwbball   |  Northwestern Women's Basketball   | @NUCATS_WBB
 Game Notes (PDF)
 Northwestern | Purdue

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Winners of three games in a row, Northwestern hits the road Wednesday night to face another tough test against the Purdue Boilermakers at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind.

STATE CHAMPS
With its second victory of the season over Illinois on Sunday, Northwestern improved to 7-0 against foes from the Land of Lincoln this season. In addition to a pair of wins over the Illini, the Wildcats have also toppled Chicago State, UIC, No. 18 DePaul, Loyola and Eastern Illinois. It's margin of victory over teams from Illinois is 24.7 points. The last time NU went 7-0 against instate opponents was 1995-96 with the last of the victories coming over Illinois State in the WNIT (3/21/96).

PASS THE BUTTER
Northwestern's Nia Coffey has been named to the Big Ten Weekly Honor Roll in back-to-back weeks. The sophomore is averaging 18.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in her team's last four contests. Coffey scored a career-high 35 points against the Hawkeyes and followed that up with three consecutive double-doubles against Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois. She currently ranks sixth in the Big Ten and 30th in the NCAA with 10 double-doubles this year. The Minneapolis, Minn. also claimed Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Dec. 1 this season after helping the 'Cats defeat No. 18 DePaul in double overtime.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Wildcats secured their eighth win of the season away from home last Thursday night at Assembly Hall against Indiana. That number matches the 2011-12 squad for the most wins away from home under head coach Joe McKeown (since 2008-09). That team three seasons ago won only two Big Ten games away from Welsh-Ryan Arena, while this year's team already has three with three more to go beginning Wednesday at Purdue. Earlier this season, Northwestern won against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich on Dec.28 for the first time since March 5, 1993.

COHEN SELECTED TO ALLSTATE WBCA GOOD WORKS TEAM(R)
Alex Cohen was announced as a member of the 2015 Allstate Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Good Works Team ® on Feb. 10. She has been extremely active with many organizations, including Autism Speaks U, with which she has served in a leadership role over the past three years. The senior has also spent time as a mentor to middle school students, she has painted Evanston's fire hydrants purple with Youth Umbrella Organization, she has sang holiday carols at an assisted living facility and much more. From the 93 WBCA nominees, a distinguished voting panel selected two 10-member teams comprised of five student-athletes from the NCAA® Division I level and five student-athletes from NCAA Divisions II, III and the NAIA. Cohen and the rest of the Good Works Team will be honored at the WBCA Convention and NCAA Final Four in Tampa, Fla., in April.

DEARY NAMED TO NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD WATCH LIST
Northwestern sophomore Ashley Deary has been named to the 2015 Nancy Lieberman Award watch list for the second consecutive season, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced Friday. The award goes to the nation's top Division I point guard. Deary leads the Wildcats and currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 5.1 assists per game. The Flower Mound, Texas, native ranks second in both assist/turnover ratio and steals per game at 2.1 and 3.3, respectively. She has ranked in the top 10 nationally in steals for much of this season. The second-year player was a finalist for the Nancy Lieberman Award in 2014 as a freshman.

SHARING IS CARING
Northwestern leads the Big Ten and ranks eighth in the NCAA with 17.8 assists per game this season. Point guard Ashley Deary ranks fourth in the conference with 5.1 helpers per game and tied for second with an assist/turnover ratio of 2.0. The sophomore has upped those numbers to 5.5 apg with a ratio of 2.4 in conference play. As a team, NU accumulated a season-high 28 assists on 77.7 percent (28-of-36) of its made field goals at home against Iowa on Jan. 29. Senior Karly Roser had a season-high nine assists against the Hawkeyes. The team's best percentage this season came on Dec. 7 against Loyola when the Wildcats recorded 22 assists on 28 baskets (78.5 percent).

SCOUTING PURDUE
Overall Record: 10-13, 3-9 Big Ten
All-Time Series Record: Purdue leads, 45-20
Notable: Purdue enters the week seeking its fourth Big Ten win of the season. The Boilermakers have lost four consecutive games at Mackey Arena, its longest skid at home since the 1984 season. After beginning her career at Maryland, the reigning Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year, Whitney Bays, leads Purdue with 15 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game during her redshirt senior season. Both teams rely on strong opening halves as the Boilermakers are 10-2 this season when leading at halftime, while the Wildcats are 17-1 when up at the break.

UP NEXT
Northwestern concludes its two-game road swing on Saturday, Feb. 14 against the Michigan Wolverines. The second meeting of the season between the two squads, which tips off at 1 p.m. CST, will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!