By Hayden W. King, Northwestern Correspondent
The Northwestern women's basketball team had its first taste of competition on Sunday, defeating Seton Hill, 103-44, in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon.
The team was led by Preseason All-Big Ten selection Nia Coffey, who scored 29 points and grabbed nine boards in just 20 minutes. Senior Maggie Lyon got off to a hot start, scoring 12 of the Wildcats' first 21 points, and finishing the game with 18.
Despite great performances all around, the stat-line of the day belonged to junior guard Ashley Deary, who finished with six points, seven assists and 10 steals. Her defensive effort helped set the tone of the game early, and the 'Cats never looked back.
While the veteran leaders took care of business, this game was more about giving the team's youth, especially freshmen, a chance to get comfortable in game situations. The Wildcats welcomed three freshmen to the 2015-16 roster in guards Jordan Hankins and Amber Jamison, and forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah. All three saw significant playing time in the game, and Hankins's 10 points made her Northwestern's third leading scorer.
"[The freshmen] have been working really hard in practice and just trying to get acclimated to college basketball," Lyon said after the game. "We are really excited about where they are, and we love playing with them."
McKeown also saw things he liked from his latest recruiting class.
"Pallas [Kunaiyi-Akpanah] is strong and can really rebound," he said of the Nigerian native, who finished the game with four offensive rebounds and six boards total. "Amber Jamison is really going to help us this year in a quiet way," said McKeown.
Jamison made all three of her field goal attempts and scored seven points on the day.
McKeown also spoke highly Jordan Hankins, who saw much of the ball-handling duties behind Deary.
Although the starters rested the entire fourth quarter, they were far from out of the game.
Seemingly every positive play was followed by a zealous applause from the bench. The camaraderie between older and younger players is already apparent, and the regular season has yet to begin.
"I feel like our leadership is really strong right now," McKeown said. "They are holding each other accountable and doing all the little things you like to see as a coach. [Captains] Maggie Lyon, Christen Johnson and Nia Coffey all have the respect of the team right now."
Even with an experienced veteran team, McKeown acknowledged the importance of his freshmen.
"We're going to need them [this year]. We'll go through some roller coasters as we go, but I'm really excited about all three of them," he said.
Expectations are high this year as the squad is coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in nearly two decades.
"We just want to take what we learned from last year and start there," Deary said, forecasting the year ahead.
"We want to set high standards for ourselves, and I think we've done that so far."
McKeown added, "It's a new season. We want to use [last season] as a springboard, [but] we're a different team than we were last year."
McKeown knows there will be kinks to work out with a changing style, but he sees it in a positive light.
"We have to take from now until the end of December to get better. We'll have days where the ball doesn't go in, but we'll just use that to get better for the Big Ten," the head coach said.
Deary is also optimistic, adding, "The chemistry is there. We're still trying to get in our groove, but we've seen a lot of improvement from everyone since we started practicing."
The 'Cats look to carry the momentum from this win into the regular season, which begins Nov. 15 at Welsh-Ryan Arena when they face Howard. After starting the 2014-15 campaign with 11 straight victories, Joe McKeown and company are hoping to get on another early roll this year.
The Northwestern women's basketball team had its first taste of competition on Sunday, defeating Seton Hill, 103-44, in exhibition play on Sunday afternoon.
The team was led by Preseason All-Big Ten selection Nia Coffey, who scored 29 points and grabbed nine boards in just 20 minutes. Senior Maggie Lyon got off to a hot start, scoring 12 of the Wildcats' first 21 points, and finishing the game with 18.
Despite great performances all around, the stat-line of the day belonged to junior guard Ashley Deary, who finished with six points, seven assists and 10 steals. Her defensive effort helped set the tone of the game early, and the 'Cats never looked back.
While the veteran leaders took care of business, this game was more about giving the team's youth, especially freshmen, a chance to get comfortable in game situations. The Wildcats welcomed three freshmen to the 2015-16 roster in guards Jordan Hankins and Amber Jamison, and forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah. All three saw significant playing time in the game, and Hankins's 10 points made her Northwestern's third leading scorer.
"[The freshmen] have been working really hard in practice and just trying to get acclimated to college basketball," Lyon said after the game. "We are really excited about where they are, and we love playing with them."
McKeown also saw things he liked from his latest recruiting class.
"Pallas [Kunaiyi-Akpanah] is strong and can really rebound," he said of the Nigerian native, who finished the game with four offensive rebounds and six boards total. "Amber Jamison is really going to help us this year in a quiet way," said McKeown.
Jamison made all three of her field goal attempts and scored seven points on the day.
McKeown also spoke highly Jordan Hankins, who saw much of the ball-handling duties behind Deary.
Although the starters rested the entire fourth quarter, they were far from out of the game.
Seemingly every positive play was followed by a zealous applause from the bench. The camaraderie between older and younger players is already apparent, and the regular season has yet to begin.
"I feel like our leadership is really strong right now," McKeown said. "They are holding each other accountable and doing all the little things you like to see as a coach. [Captains] Maggie Lyon, Christen Johnson and Nia Coffey all have the respect of the team right now."
Even with an experienced veteran team, McKeown acknowledged the importance of his freshmen.
"We're going to need them [this year]. We'll go through some roller coasters as we go, but I'm really excited about all three of them," he said.
Expectations are high this year as the squad is coming off the program's first NCAA Tournament berth in nearly two decades.
"We just want to take what we learned from last year and start there," Deary said, forecasting the year ahead.
"We want to set high standards for ourselves, and I think we've done that so far."
McKeown added, "It's a new season. We want to use [last season] as a springboard, [but] we're a different team than we were last year."
McKeown knows there will be kinks to work out with a changing style, but he sees it in a positive light.
"We have to take from now until the end of December to get better. We'll have days where the ball doesn't go in, but we'll just use that to get better for the Big Ten," the head coach said.
Deary is also optimistic, adding, "The chemistry is there. We're still trying to get in our groove, but we've seen a lot of improvement from everyone since we started practicing."
The 'Cats look to carry the momentum from this win into the regular season, which begins Nov. 15 at Welsh-Ryan Arena when they face Howard. After starting the 2014-15 campaign with 11 straight victories, Joe McKeown and company are hoping to get on another early roll this year.