With 11:22 minutes left in the first half, Northwestern senior forward Ifeoma Okonkwo found her team trailing 22-12. She also hadn’t scored in six minutes of play, keeping her 15 points away from the 1,000th point of her college career.
This is when Okonkwo took over.
She scored 10 of the Cats’ 17 points to end the half and helped close Wisconsin’s lead to 34-29.
Okonkwo kept up this fire at the beginning of the second half. She recorded an assist, a steal, two rebounds and a 3-pointer, only her fifth on the season, to give NU its first lead with 17:58 left in the game.
This set the stage for her milestone.
After a basket by Wisconsin forward Danielle Ward, the Cats’ inbounded the ball to guard Kristin Cartwright. The Badgers’ full-court press trapped her in the backcourt. Cartwright found junior forward A.J. Glasauer at midcourt.
Okonkwo was standing wide open under the basket.
The Cats’ only two upperclassmen combined for the layup, and Okonkwo had her 1,000th point.
Glasauer said the basket had special significance for her because she was able to contribute.
“I loved it,” she said. “Because Foamy catches all my balls, I always find her. That gets me going more than when I score more.”
Okonkwo said she didn’t grasp the importance of the basket until she came out of the game.
“I wasn’t even thinking about it,” she said. “I didn’t even know until someone on the bench told me it was my 1,000th point.”
Glasauer and Okonkwo scored 37 of the Cats’ 58 points. They also rekindled a connection that has showed itself at times throughout the season. Three of Glasauer’s team-leading four assists came on Okonkwo’s baskets.
“We always talk about it in practice, bringing that into every game, trying to get that connection,” Okonkwo said. “In this game, it kind of worked. We just have to hope that it keeps on working for the rest of the games.”
Okonkwo finished the game with 20 points, her fifth game with 20 or more points this season. She also led the Cats in scoring for the seventh time. The team is 4-3 when Okonkwo leads the way.
She also finished the game with six rebounds, three assists, one block and two steals. Okonkwo, who averages 2.9 turnovers per game, only one mistake against the Badgers’ defense.
Okonkwo, who has started 68 games in her NU career, said she didn’t expect this amount of success.
“It’s cool,” she said. “Coming in here, I didn’t really think I was going to get 1,000 points.”
Reach David Morrison at [email protected].
