With eight games played, Northwestern still has a zero in the loss column.

Junior forward Nia Coffey led the No. 15 Wildcats (8-0) with 21 points and 14 rebounds, as NU continued its undefeated start with a 69-44 win over Milwaukee (3-3) Sunday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“Milwaukee was scrappy. They took us out of our game a little bit,” coach Joe McKeown said. “It wasn’t the most scenic game you’re ever going to watch.”

NU began to take control late in the second quarter, when a 27-17 lead with fewer than three minutes to play turned into a 37-21 halftime advantage. Six of Coffey’s 15 first half points came on a trio of layups in that stretch.

The first quarter was a different story for the Cats. NU led just 18-12 after the opening 10 minutes, committing three turnovers and allowing four offensive rebounds.

“You don’t want to give a team like that a chance to get hot,” McKeown said of the Panthers. “We did a good job closing out the half.”

The second half, in many ways, mirrored the first for the Cats. NU outscored Milwaukee by a single point in the third but pulled away in the fourth for the 25-point win.

The Cats’ defensive effort, strong throughout the game, was particularly strong in the second half. The Panthers shot just 5-of-29 after the break and were 1-of-14 from 3-point range.

“We really wanted to apply pressure and just make things hard for them,” junior guard Ashley Deary said.

Rebounding continued to be an issue for NU. While the Cats finished with a 48-46 edge Sunday, Milwaukee had 17 second chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.

The Cats, meanwhile, who have won the rebounding battle in just two other games this season, had only 9 second-chance points.

“They had a lot of long rebounds,” Coffey said. “We just have to make sure everyone’s getting a body on someone, and pushing her back and getting better position.”

Despite its struggles on the glass, NU remains unbeaten and continues to climb in the national rankings. For Deary, who had 12 points and eight steals, that’s a welcome sight as exams approach.

“We just kind of want to get through finals and focus on basketball,” she said.

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Twitter: @ckpaxton