After missing most of last year’s season due to an injury, Northwestern junior guard Melannie Daley took the court for the first time in 11 months Thursday against UIC. 

She wasted no time in getting back to work, scoring a career-high 25 points en route to a 92-86 overtime victory for the Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten). Daley also notched five rebounds and two assists. 

“She’s one of the most explosive scorers, I think, in the Big Ten,” coach Joe McKeown said. “She’s a great scorer and it’s great to have her back.” 

Daley was on the court from the tipoff, starting in her first game since Dec. 10, 2022, when she tallied 13 points against DePaul. 

With the game tied at 8-8, Daley scored her first of two first-quarter buckets on a second-chance effort. Despite NU jumping out to an 8-0 start, UIC outscored the ‘Cats 19-16 in the first quarter.

The second quarter proved disastrous for NU, its offense coming to a standstill. The hosts shot 6-of-18 from the field and were outscored 25-14 in the second quarter, heading into the intermission trailing 44-30. 

Whatever McKeown said in his halftime speech to the team worked, however. The ‘Cats outscored the Flames 27-8 in the third quarter, shooting 10-of-17 (59%) from the field and 2-of-3 from deep. They retook the lead 57-52, entering the fourth quarter. 

Daley scored 11 points in the third, shooting 5-of-6 from the field. She started the scoring for NU out of halftime, making a spinning layup and cutting the deficit to 15 points. She added another layup before snagging a nice feed from sophomore guard Caroline Lau to give her six points. She scored another layup before swishing a jump shot and making an and-one to score her 11th point of the quarter and 17th of the game.  

“I just got the ball and I attacked,” Daley said. “I knew that we needed to come back from 14 … so I knew I needed to go out there and get some buckets.” 

In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, senior forward Paige Mott and junior forward Caileigh Walsh each posted five points. Mott, who had a career-high 20 rebounds Thursday, added five boards in the fourth quarter. UIC outscored NU 23-18 in the fourth quarter, and the game went to overtime tied 75-75 after a Lau 3-pointer rolled off the rim as time expired.

A perfect time for a flurry of Daley buckets.

Up 80-76 with 4:09 left, Daley sunk a shot from the elbow to get to 21. She followed it with a midrange jumper and then, on the ensuing possession, knocked in a turnaround jump shot for 25 points — a career-making night.

“She’s had a lot of challenges,” McKeown said. “I’m really proud of her.” 

The ‘Cats held on in overtime, taking a lead early into the period and never relinquishing it. They start the season 1-0 and will next take on Omaha on Sunday. 

All of the five starters scored points in double figures: Lau had 16, junior guard Hailey Weaver had 15, Walsh had 19 and Mott had 13.

But it was Daley who led all scorers with 25. She will look to be an important part of NU’s backcourt in its 2023-24 campaign. 

“There’s really no words,” Daley said of her performance. “It was a great game, a fun game.”

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Twitter: @HenryFrieman

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