Feb. 13, 1998

Northwestern vs. Indiana/Michigan Previews

Northwestern Wildcats (8-18, 2-11 Big Ten)
vs. Indiana Hoosiers (17-9, 8-5 Big Ten)
Fri., Feb. 13, 1998 - Welsh-Ryan Arena
7 p.m. CST - WNUR 89.3 FM Radio

at Michigan Wolverines (15-7, 7-5 Big Ten)
Sun., Feb. 15, 1998 - Ann Arbor, Mich.
1 p.m. CST - WNUR 89.3 FM Radio

The Wildcats host Indiana on Friday night in Northwestern's final Big Ten home contest of the season. NU has won two of the last three games, including Tuesday night's 72-67 win over Chicagoland-rival DePaul.

NU opened the game with an 8-2 run and led 14-8 before an 18-4 DePaul run gave the Blue Demons a 26-18 lead with 5:44 left until halftime. The DU lead was nine points (43-34) before the Wildcats went on a 12-0 run of their own to recapture the lead at 46-43 with 13:52 remaining in the contest. The 'Cats took the lead for good at 62-60 on a Kristina Divjak layup with 3:35 left on the clock. NU made 8-of-10 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Divjak notched her third double-double of the season with 25 points and a career-best 12 rebounds. Amber DeWall had a career-high 19 points to go with eight assists and seven boards. In the process, DeWall became just the 10th player in Big Ten history to record 500 career assists.

Today is the 41st meeting between NU and Indiana, with the Wildcats holding a 23-17 advantage. Indiana won the first meeting of the year in Bloomington, 88-63.

Sunday will be the 38th meeting between NU and Michigan, with the Wildcats holding a 29-8 advantage. UM won the first meeting of the year in Welsh-Ryan Arena, 77-69.

Don Perrelli (Southern Connecticut State, 1961) is in his 14th season at the helm of the Wildcats and 22nd as a collegiate head coach. He has compiled a 411-234 overall mark and a 236-163 record with the Wildcats. NU has advanced to postseason six times during Perrelli's tenure.

Wildcat Probable Starters
Pos.    Name (height, class, hometown)                  ppg     rpg     apg
F   #35 Kristina Divjak (6-0, Jr., Dyer, Ind.)          21.4    6.2     1.6
F   #21 Leslie Schock (6-0, So., Elgin, Ill.)           5.3     4.3     0.7
C   #54 Mary Connolly (6-3, Sr (5)., Chicago, Ill.)     5.6     4.1     0.7
G   #20 Amber DeWall (5-9, Sr., St. Louis Park, Minn.)  10.0    6.0     6.7
G   #24 Megan Chawansky (5-11, Jr., Avon Lake, Ohio)    15.3    5.8     3.3
Off the bench
G   #5 Dana Leonard (5-6, Fr., Glenview, Ill.)          5.0     1.1     0.9
G   #11 Lisa Byington (5-6, Sr., Portage, Mich.)        1.5     0.5     0.7
F   #20 Chala Holland (6-1, Fr., Ardmore, Pa.)          1.6     1.3     0.0
G   #22 Clarissa Flores (5-8, Fr., Chicago, Ill.)       3.8     1.8     0.7
G/F #32 Candace Wrenn (5-9, Sr., Austin, Texas)         0.9     0.5     0.3
F   #33 Anne Giblin (6-0, Jr., Upper Montclair, NJ)     5.3     3.5     1.4
C   #52 Leah Berki (6-1, So., Willowbrook, Ill.)        2.5     2.2     0.3

All-America candidate Kristina Divjak continues to lead the Big Ten Conference and ranks 20th nationally in scoring, averaging 21.2 points per game. She is also second in the Big Ten and 12th nationally in three pointers made (2.6 pg).

In all, Divjak ranks among the conference leaders in six of the 10 Big Ten individual stat categories. She also is fourth in three-point percentage (.389), fourth in free throw percentage (.845), sixth in defensive rebounding (4.6 pg) and seventh in blocked shots (0.8 pg). Divjak is the only player in the Big Ten to rank in the top seven in six different categories.

Divjak has led the 'Cats in scoring 22 of the season's 26 games, including a season-high 32 points against Loyola-Chicago. She has topped the 20-point mark in 13 contests and is one of only two Big Ten players (Indiana's Quacy Barnes) to score in double figures every game.

Kristina Divjak will be honored this March by The Times of Northwest Indiana as one of the 10 Most Influential Women of 1998 in Lake County (Indiana). The selections are made as part of women's history month.

Kristina Divjak enters the Indiana game with 198 career three-point field goals made, second on NU's all-time list. She needs just five more treys to become just the sixth player in Big Ten history to hit 200 three-pointers. The other five: Michele Ratay (NU, 244), Katie Voigt (UW, 219), Katie Smith (OSU, 218), Kris McGrade (IU, 205) and Marcie Alberts (OSU, 204).

With her eight assists on Tuesday, senior point guard Amber DeWall became just the 10th player in Big Ten history to record 500 career assists, and the third Wildcat to do so. The last conference player to reach 500 career assists was Penn State's Tina Nicholson, who had 826 assists from 1993-96.

DeWall currently leads the Big Ten in assists, averaging 6.7 per contest. In Big Ten games only, she leads the conference with 7.0 assists per game. DeWall also leads the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.02-to-1 (168:83) and in conference games only with a 2.63-to-1 (84:32) ratio.

DeWall's 19 points vs. DePaul was a career best, while her 12 assists vs. Minnesota tied her career high. She has nearly recorded triple-doubles in three-straight games: 2/6 vs. Ohio State (10p, 10a, 8r); 2/8 vs. Iowa (10a, 9p, 9r); 2/10 vs. DePaul (19p, 8a, 7r).

With her 16 points against DePaul, junior guard Megan Chawansky has moved into 11th on the all-time NU scoring chart with 1,107 points.

Chawansky possesses an excellent all-around game, averaging 15.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.2 steals per contest this season. Her 15.2 ppg ranks 11th in the Big Ten while her 24 points last Sunday against Iowa was a season high. Ohio State head coach Beth Burns described Chawansky as "The Tasmanian Devil in Kneepads," referring to her never-say-die style of play.

On Jan. 11 at Ohio State, she set a Big Ten record for free throw proficiency by going 14-for-14. The previous record of 13-for-13 was held by former OSU All-American Katie Smith. The 14-for-14 also is tied for the third-best performance in the NCAA this year. Chawansky hit 22-straight free throws earlier this season.

The Wildcats are mathematically guaranteed either the 10th or 11th seed in the upcoming conference tournament at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis. If NU earns the No. 10 seed, the 'Cats will play on Fri., Feb. 27, against the No. 7 seed at approx. 6 p.m. EST. If NU ends up as the No. 11 seed, the 'Cats play the sixth seed at approx. 8 p.m. EST. Tickets for the tournament are on sale through the Wildcat ticket office at (847) 491-CATS.

Individual - All Games
Scoring Kristina Divjak (1st Big Ten, 20th NCAA)    21.4 ppg
        Megan Chawansky (11th Big Ten)              15.3 ppg
Assists Amber DeWall (1st Big Ten, 14th NCAA)       6.7 apg
3pt/gm. Kristina Divjak (2nd Big Ten, 12th NCAA)    2.6 tpg
A/TO    Amber DeWall (1st Big Ten)                  2.02-to-1
3pt%    Kristina Divjak (4th Big Ten)               .389
FT%     Kristina Divjak (4th Big Ten)               .845
D. Reb. Amber DeWall (5th Big Ten)                  4.8 drpg
        Kristina Divjak (6th Big Ten)               4.7 drpg
Blocks  Kristina Divjak (7th Big Ten)               0.8 bpg
Team
Asst/TO Ratio   1st Big Ten 0.99-to-1
3pt/game        2nd Big Ten 5.4 tpg
Assists         3rd Big Ten 15.6 apg
3pt%            3rd Big Ten .355
FT%             4th Big Ten .692
Individual - Big Ten Games Only
Assists     Amber DeWall (1st)          7.0 apg 
A/TO ratio  Amber DeWall (1st)          2.63-to-1
3pt/gm.     Kristina Divjak (3rd)       2.4 tpg 
3pt%        Megan Chawansky (3rd)       .426
            Kristina Divjak (9th)       .373
FT%         Kristina Divjak (4th)       .860
Scoring     Kristina Divjak (4th)       19.1 ppg
            Megan Chawansky (10th)      15.9 ppg 
Blocks      Kristina Divjak (6th)       0.9 bpg
Steals      Amber DeWall (7th)          2.0 spg
Def. Reb.   Kristina Divjak (9th)       4.7 drpg
            Amber DeWall (10th)         4.6 drpg
Team - Big Ten Games Only
Asst./TO    1st (0.99-to-1)
3pt/game    2nd (5.7 tpg)
Assist      3rd (15.3 apg)
3pt%        4th (.361)
FT%         4th (.706)
Steals      t5th (8.2)

NU needs to draw 2,298 total fans over its final two home contests to break the school single-season mark of 17,672 set last year. The Wildcats set a school single-game attendance record on Jan. 16, when 3,665 fans attended the NU-Wisconsin game in Welsh-Ryan Arena. The old single-game mark of 3,416 was set in 1995 against Iowa.

All-Time NU Record Book Watch
Career Points                   Career Assists      
6.  Amy Prichard (1,533)        1.  Nancy Kennelly (892)
7.  Kristina Divjak (1,430)     2.  Moira Kennelly (546)
10.  Katrina Hannaford (1,323)  3.  Amber DeWall (504)
11. Megan Chawansky (1,207)         

Career Three-Pointers Made  Career Three-Point Attempts
1.  Michele Ratay (244)     1.  Michele Ratay (629)
2.  Kristina Divjak (198)   2.  Kristina Divjak (474)
5.  Megan Chawansky (102)   5.  Megan Chawansky (281)
Career Free Throws Made     Career Free Throw Attempts
6. Julie Calahan (337)      7. Julie Calahan (462)
7.  Megan Chawansky (293)   8. Megan Chawansky (446)
Career Blocked Shots
8.  Karen Stack (50)
t9.  Laura Arnold (42)
t9.  Kristina Divjak (42)