January 31, 1999

Minneapolis - Northwestern jumped out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in its 66-53 win over Minnesota Sunday afternoon. The victory snapped a three-game winless streak for the Wildcats and also avenged an earlier season loss to the Gophers, a 70-68 setback suffered on Jan. 15 in Evanston.

Northwestern got a game-high 17 points from senior guard Megan Chawansky (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake). Junior forward Leslie Schock (Elgin, Ill./Elgin) chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds, while sophomore forward Clarissa Flores (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) tied her career-high with 14 points, 10 in the first half.

The 'Cats held all five Minnesota starters scoreless in the first half and the Gophers got their 17 points from players off the bench in the opening 20 minutes. NU led 34-17 at halftime.

For the game, Northwestern shot 44 percent from the field, while holding the Gophers to just 32.8 percent shooting. The Wildcats were careful with their possessions, committing only 13 turnovers, the fewest amount since the Dec. 1 win over Loyola-Chicago when they committed only 10.

The Wildcats improved to 9-11, 3-7 in the Big Ten. They will next be in action Friday, Feb. 5 at Illinois beginning at 7 p.m.