Feb. 27, 2008

Iowa Game Notes

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern travels to Iowa Thursday after notching its first conference victory of the season, a 70-58 win over Penn State on Sunday afternoon at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats have a challenge in front of them in Iowa City, however, as the Hawkeyes are hungry for a win. Iowa is tied with Ohio State for first place in the league heading into the final week of the regular season. Tip is set for 7 p.m. CT.

Last Time Out...
Northwestern sent seniors Nadia Bibbs, Melissa Miller and Sara Stutz off in style Sunday afternoon, defeating Penn State 70-58 to earn their first conference win of the season. Bibbs tallied a team-high 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds. She also added four assists and two steals in her final game at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Northwestern held Penn State to just 35 percent shooting from the field in the first half, while knocking down 15-of-31 (48 percent) from the floor. Bibbs led NU with 12 points at the break, followed by Amy Jaeschke with eight.

Penn State opened the half on a 10-2 run to pull within a point before consecutive buckets by Reed and Jaeschke set NU's lead back to five.

Northwestern slowly built an 11-point lead; capped off by back-to-back lay ups from Ellen Jaeschke. But the Lady Lions would not go away, mustering six unanswered points to pull to within five, 52-47, with just under 10 minutes remaining.

PSU pulled within three, but consecutive treys from Amy Jaeschke and Bibbs gave NU a 60-53 cushion with 6:19.

The Wildcats outscored the Lady Lions 10-5 over the next six minutes to hang on for a 70-58 victory.

Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa enters the final week of the regular season tied with Ohio State for the conference lead at 11-5. After hosting Northwestern Thursday, the Hawks travel to Wisconsin on Sunday. Iowa has won nine of its last 11 games and is looking to send its five seniors--Abby Emmert, Jenee Graham, Stacy Schlapkohl, Johanna Solverson and Krista VandeVenter--off with a win in their final home game. Kristi Smith and Wendy Ausdemore are leading the Hawks offensively with 13.1 and 11.9 ppg, respectively. Iowa boasts a balanced attack on the boards, led by Krista VandeVenter and Jenee Graham, both averaging 5.0 rpg.

The Series Against Iowa
Northwestern mustered only 14 points in the first half against Iowa back on Jan. 31. The Wildcats responded by outscoring the Hawks 41-36 in the second frame, but the first-half deficit was too much to overcome as Iowa claimed a 70-55 victory. With the win, Iowa pushed the all-time series mark to 39-12. Three Wildcats scored in double-figures in the game, in Nadia Bibbs (12), Jenny Eckhart (13) and Amy Jaeschke (16). Jaeschke added a team-high nine rebounds.

Off The Bench
Northwestern's bench has stepped up over the last two games against Michigan State and Penn State. Half of NU's points (21) and 16 of the 'Cats' 34 rebounds came from the bench against the Spartans. In the victory over the Lady Lions, Ellen Jaeschke, Meshia Reed, Savannah Stedman and Shantina Boyd combined for 24 points and 13 boards.

Role Play
Freshman Meshia Reed has warmed up to her new role as the sixth-man sparkplug for the 'Cats. Over the past four games, Reed has is second on the team, averaging 11.8 ppg. She has also knocked down a Wildcat-best 35 percent of her looks from long range.

End-Of-The Year Awards Announced
The Wildcats held their annual end-of-the-year reception following the final home game Sunday against Penn State. The following awards were presented:
The Swiffer Award for Loose Balls--Ellen Jaeschke
The Iceberg Award for Tips--Nadia Bibbs
The Jail Award for Steals--Nadia Bibbs
The Windex Award for Rebounds--Nadia Bibbs
The Helping Hands Award for Assists--Nadia Bibbs

For complete game notes, please click on the PDF above.