Women’s Basketball

Northwestern did exactly what was expected of it on Sunday.

The Wildcats (7-1) never trailed, had firm control throughout the game and pulled away in the second half to roll over struggling Chicago State (0-8), 75-42, at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NU won its fourth-straight game, and its 32-point margin of victory was the highest of its season so far.

Senior forward Nia Coffey led the Cats with 14 points and 12 rebounds and broke the program’s career rebounds record in the second half. Senior guard Ashley Deary added 12 points of her own, and 12 different players scored.

Though NU started slowly and the game was briefly tied early in the second quarter, the Cats were statistically dominant across the board by the final whistle. NU shot 46.3 percent from the field to just 26.1 percent from the Cougars
and outrebounded the visitors 49-28. The Cats were particularly forceful rebounding their own misses, notching 16 offensive boards to just six for Chicago State.

After an upset win against then-No. 16 Florida on Nov. 25 and a come-from-behind 69-60 victory against Virginia on Thursday, NU faced a lighter test on Sunday. Chicago State went just 4-25 last year and lost earlier in the season to Kansas State, 83-33, in its only other game against a major-conference opponent so far.

“It’s really important to not get ahead of yourself,” coach Joe McKeown said. “Especially this time of year. We’re in early December; we’re trying to get better for the Big Ten. That was our goal today.”

The lopsided result allowed McKeown to go deep into his bench. After just eight players saw action on Thursday, all 15 played against Chicago State, and no one played more than 24 minutes.

With just over three weeks until Big Ten play begins, Sunday’s game offered McKeown a valuable opportunity to fine-tune his rotation. Some reserves impressed, like sophomore guard Jordan Hankins, who scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

“It was very important,” Hankins said of her performance. “It wasn’t so much about the scoring, but just coming out and doing my job and making sure I got other people open.”

NU will break for finals this week and return to action Sunday at Milwaukee. With a short hiatus upcoming and the holiday season approaching, Coffey said getting on a roll is important for the Cats.

“Wins are always good,” Coffey said. “Going into winter break, that’s awesome. We just want to make sure we keep that up.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ckpaxton