Dec. 21, 2010

Northwestern (10-2, 0-0) vs. Toledo (7-4, 0-0)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 3 p.m.
Streaming Video:NUsports.com
Gametracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Game Notes (PDF)

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern concludes its nonconference schedule when it faces its third Mid-American Conference squad of the season--Toledo--at 3 p.m. Wednesday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The game will be streamed live through All-Access on NUsports.com. The Wildcats, who are receiving votes in both polls, are currently 10-2 on the season, a feat only accomplished twice in NU annals in the past 15 years.

Looking Ahead
The Wildcats begin conference action at 6 p.m CT against Indiana before returning home to face Purdue at 2 p.m. on Jan. 2.

Jaeschke Picks Up Third Big Ten Player of the Week Accolade
Amy Jaeschke earned her third Big Ten Player of the Week honor this season after averaging 24.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks per game in the Wildcats' three contests last week. She recorded with two 20-point games, two seven-rebound efforts and finished the week with 15 blocks. Her top game of the week came against Northern Illinois, where she finished with a game-high 33 points, adding seven rebounds and swatting five shots in a victory over the Huskies. Jaeschke ranks second in the Big Ten points per game (24.2) and third in rebounds (9.2). Jaeschke shared the honor with Illinois' Karisma Penn.

Hackney Gets Back in The Groove
This past week, the Wildcats faced three opponents, which was just a small part of the larger picture of five games in 12 days, and Kendall Hackney proved she was up to the task. The sophomore averaged 15.7 ppg, which was second on the team, and a team-best 7.7 rpg during that span. She shot a blistering 55.6 percent from long range (5-of-9) and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the free-throw line.

May I Help You?
Call them a team of givers or a group of unselfish players, either way, Northwestern leads the Big Ten in assists, dishing out 232 helpers--that's an average of 19.3--this season. That average also ranks ninth in the nation (as of 12.19.10). Tailor Jones leads the team with 52 dishes while senior Beth Marshall is second with 40. The two guards rank in the top ten in the Conference in assists per game, with Jones tied for third (4.7) and Marshall tied at seventh (3.6).

Sharp Shooting
Over the past three games (last week), Northwestern shot 51 percent from the field, including a season-high 60.9 percent effort against Northern Arizona Sunday afternoon. That effort propelled the 'Cats into the national spotlight where they now rank11th, averaging 46.9 percent from the field this season. From beyond the arc, NU is eighth in the country, connecting on 39.2 percent of their attempts.

Putting the Time In
Three Wildcats appear in the top 10 in minutes played this year--the most of any League squad. Senior Beth Marshall leads the Big Ten with 36.8 mpg, while fellow classmate Amy Jaeschke and junior Brittany Orban are averaging 34.8 and 33.6 mpg, respectively.

Complete game notes can be found by clicking on the PDF above.

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