Women’s Basketball

On an afternoon where most of Northwestern’s lineup came out looking sluggish, junior guard Ashley Deary helped fuel the team to keep it undefeated in a win over Western Michigan on Sunday.

Deary provided the necessary spark for the Wildcats (3-0) with career-highs in points and assists, with 25 and 12, respectively. Nineteen of Deary’s points came in the first half which gave NU a 40-29 lead at halftime, before a 22-point run late in the game gave the Cats an insurmountable lead and an 86-62 win.

Junior forward Nia Coffey again had a solid day for the Cats, scoring 20 points and pulling down nine rebounds, following up her performance from last Thursday where she tied her career-high with 18 rebounds against Idaho State. She grinded for points and rebounds on the block all day, earning 10 free throws and making six.

Coach Joe McKeown praised Coffey’s consistency.

“She’s raised the bar … you can expect the energy and the effort every night,” McKeown said.

The Broncos (2-2) possess much more talent and athleticism than NU’s first two opponents and were able to provide a much stiffer test for the Cats. Western Michigan hung tough in the first half, cutting NU’s lead to 25-24 after a seven-point run in the second quarter.

NU’s weakness on the glass manifested itself again today with the Cats losing the rebounding battle 38-32. Along with winning the battle on the boards, Western Michigan allowed only seven offensive rebounds to NU, compared to the impressive 23 the team had last game.

Junior guard Christen Inman had a scoring breakthrough in the second half during NU’s dominating 22-point run in the late third and early fourth quarters. After only having 4 points in the first half, Inman exploded for 13 points in the second.

The Cats’ aggressive defense was key again; NU forced 24 turnovers that led to 40 points. The Cats have forced 23 or more turnovers in every game this season.

Another area where NU excelled was on the fast-break. Often led by the lightning quick ballhandling and passing ability of Deary, the Cats scored 22 points on the break, and allowed only four to the Broncos.

Senior guard Maggie Lyon made her presence felt on the defensive end where she nabbed a game-leading five steals. On offense, she contributed 12 points. However, her struggles from beyond the arc continued where she shot 0-of-3. Lyon’s 37 game-streak of making at least one three-pointer ended in the first game of this season.

Before their trip to Texas for the Lone Star Showcase, which begins Thursday, the Cats demonstrated that even on a night that had some sloppy plays, aggressive defense and a number of standout performances could still give NU a blowout win.

“We knew that would come if we kept on pressuring them on the defensive end and finally a couple people hit some shots and it just kind of catapulted us,” Lyon said.

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