Northwestern
13-3, 2-1
Ohio State
13-4, 3-0
Deary Makes History, Northwestern Battles #11 Ohio State to the Wire
1/3/2017 10:13:00 PM | Women's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- The Wildcats battled No. 11 Ohio State to the wire on Tuesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena but fell just short, 94-87.
Ashley Deary made history in the first minute of the game when she intercepted a pass to become the Big Ten's all-time steals leader with 373. She finished the night with six to bring her career total to 378.
Northwestern enjoyed one of its best offensive displays of the season with Nia Coffey scoring a team-high 22 points, while Christen Inman and freshman Abi Scheid each poured in 20 apiece.
Scheid totaled a career-high 20 points without missing a shot the entire night. She was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, which included four triples to go along with a career-best nine rebounds.
Coffey notched her ninth double-double of the season with 22 points and 13 rebounds. She scored in double-digits for the 64th game in a row and reached the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season. She moved past Amy Jaeschke (2007-11) into second place on the Wildcats' all-time scoring list at 1,977 career points and finished the night with 1,996. She needs just four more points to become the fifth Big Ten player ever with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
In addition to her steals record, Deary registered a double-double on 10 points and a career-high 14 assists, breaking her record of 12 set against Western Michigan in November 2015.
Both teams got off to a hot start in the first quarter, combining to make 12 three-pointers. Ohio State grabbed an early nine-point advantage but back-to-back triples from seniors Lauren Douglas and Coffey cut the gap to 31-28.
The 'Cats kept the game within reach until a two-minute Ohio State run pushed the lead from 44-42 to 54-42 at halftime.
Scheid sparked a Wildcats' comeback in the third quarter when she hit three triples in less than three minutes to bring the deficit from 12 to three at 56-53. The third quarter ended with the Buckeyes holding a 68-63 advantage.
The Buckeyes seemingly put the game away at 86-73 with just over 3:30 to play, but Northwestern fought back once more. The team used a 14-4 run capped by a Douglas three-pointer to make the game 90-87 with 34 seconds to play. Ohio State hit four free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Chicago's Big Ten Team continues conference play when they travel to College Park, Md. on Saturday to face No. 3 Maryland in another tough test.
NOTES
• Ashley Deary became the Big Ten's all-time steals leader with career steal No. 373 early in the first quarter.
• Deary dished out a career-high 14 assists, breaking her previous mark of 12 set last year against Western Michigan.
• Nia Coffey scored in double figures (22) for the 64th straight game, dating back to Jan. 22, 2015.
• Coffey passed Amy Jaeschke for second on the Wildcats' all-time scoring list with 1,977 points. Finished the day with 1,996 for her career.
• Coffey is only four points away from becoming just the fifth Big Ten player ever with 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
• Coffey led the #B1GCats in scoring AND rebounding for the 14th time this year.
• Coffey secured her ninth double-double of the season and the 49th of her career.
• Abi Scheid scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
• Scheid was perfect from the field, shooting 7-of-7, including 4-of-4 from three. She also hit both of her free throws.
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