EVANSTON, Ill. -- Senior Bridget Bianco summed it up pretty well after Sunday's game when she was told that she and classmate Brooke Jones combined to stop 14 shots in a 16-6 blowout of No. 20 Ohio State.
"That's a pretty good duo performance on senior day," Bianco said.
And that it was.
Bianco made 10 saves in 49:35 of action and Jones came off the bench to make a career-high four saves in the final 10:25 of play as the ninth-ranked Wildcats dominated the 20th-ranked Buckeyes in every facet to close the regular season with a win and secure the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.
The Wildcats will play the second game of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday against the loser of tomorrow's matchup between Michigan and Rutgers.
In addition to the stellar play of Bianco and Jones in the cage, classmate Kara Mupo had four points on three goals and an assist and fellow senior Blake McHugh scored a goal in the rout.
Freshman Ally Mueller also shined for the `Cats as she was tasked with shutting down the nation's leader in assists in Ohio State's Jackie Cifarelli. Mueller did just that as Cifarelli had just three shots in the game and was held without a point for the first time this season.
Chicago's Big Ten Team never trailed on Sunday and used a pair of big runs to bury the Buckeyes. Freshman Selena Lasota opened the scoring for the `Cats just 90 seconds into the contest, but Jennifer Porretto responded for OSU at the 27:48 mark of the first half to tie the game, 1-1.
It was then that the `Cats took over and never looked back, scoring six-straight goals to grab a 7-1 lead.
Sophomore Sheila Nesselbush tallied back-to-back goals and then found McHugh with 9:59 left in the first half to push the lead to 5-1. Junior Kaleigh Craig scored just under three minutes later before capping the run on an assist to freshman Corinne Wessels to push the lead to 7-1.
The Buckeyes' leading goal scorer Katie Chase scored back-to-back goals to close the first half and open the second half, but again the `Cats quickly squashed any hopes of a comeback by going on an 8-0 run.
Mupo scored an 8-meter goal from the top of the fan at the 24:22 mark, Nesselbush capped her third hat trick of the season just 17 seconds later and Craig scored in transition with 19:26 left to play to extend the lead to 10-3.
A pair of yellow cards on the Buckeyes gave the `Cats a two-player advantage that allowed Mupo to find freshman Shelby Fredericks in front of the goal and Lasota continued the run by flying through the air and scoring her second goal of the game, extending her multi-goal game streak to 16.
Wessels found Mupo in front of the crease with 10:33 to play and then scored a goal of her own just 22 seconds after that on a feed by Lasota, before Fredericks capped the run with her second goal of the game with 8:43 left.
Sophomore Lydia Cassada closed the scoring for the `Cats with her second goal of the season, converting on an 8-meter attempt with 1:34 to play.
Wessels led the `Cats with five points, while Nesselbush and Mupo each had four apiece. Lasota and Craig each finished with a pair of goals and an assist. Northwestern held a 18-11 advantage on ground balls and came out on top in the draw circle, 13-11.
The Big Ten Tournament will be hosted by Rutgers at High Point Solutions Stadium from Thursday, May 30 to Sunday, April 3. A complete bracket will be released Sunday afternoon.
