Jan. 4, 2009

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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern mixed up its defenses, converted in key situations and utilized a balanced offensive attack to pick up its first conference victory against Wisconsin, 49-46, Sunday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Sophomore Amy Jaeschke (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led the way for NU with 12 points, four blocks, two steals and two assists. It was just the third loss for Wisconsin (RV/RV) this season.

"It was just a hard-nosed, grinded-out game," head coach Joe McKeown said. "We had a couple runs here and there, and we made a couple big plays at the end. I've been really impressed with the play this year, and we just found a way to finish. To finish the game out like that was big, and we can really build some confidence from it."

Defense was a big part of the reason the Wildcats were able to make those big plays down the stretch. Northwestern used a combination of defensive looks to wreak havoc on the Badger offense, causing 16 turnovers, including 10 from UW's usually solid guards. In the meantime, the 'Cats only coughed the ball up on 11 occasions.

Wisconsin used the first seven minutes to jump out to 12-4 advantage before a turnaround bank shot from the elbow by Jaeschke fueled a 6-2 NU spurt, pulling the game to 14-10 with just over 11 minutes left in the frame. A shifty move from Ellen Jaeschke (Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove) and a trey from the elbow extended by senior Erin Dickerson (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game, a 15-14 edge at the 10:11 mark.

The Badgers pulled the score even at 20 with 7:03 remaining. But Northwestern held the Wisconsin offense scoreless while going on a 6-0 run over the next three possessions. The UW defense parlayed three Wildcat turnovers into a 9-0 run to end the half up three, 29-26.

The two Jaeschke's led a balanced NU offense with six points, while freshman Maggie Mocchi (Wheeling, Ill./Buffalo Grove) chipped in five and Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) contributed four. The 'Cats converted 10 first-half Badger turnovers into 11 points while shooting just under 50 percent in the stanza.

Northwestern outscored Wisconsin 6-5 to begin the second half before a trey from Alyssa Karel--UW's leading scorer--gave the Badgers a 37-35 lead with 12:47 remaining.

A three from Mocchi pulled the 'Cats to within two, 37-35. Following a defensive stop, Cartwright fed Jaeschke down low and the sophomore converted on a layup to notch the contest at 37 at the mid-way point of the second frame.

Both teams held each other scoreless over the next three minutes before a jumper in the lane by Jenny Eckhart (Libertyville, Ill,/Carmel) with 7:04 left gave Northwestern a two-point advantage. The Badgers' Teah Gant answered with a game-tying bucket at the 6:32 mark.

Back-to-back scores by Mocchi and Meshia Reed (Country Club Hills, Ill./Stockbridge (Ga.)) inflated NU's lead to four, 43-39, and forced the Badgers to call a timeout with 4:37 remaining. A jumper by Jaeschke extended the Wildcat lead to six before a trey from Karel with 3:48 left quickly pulled the Badgers back to within one possession. UW's Lin Zastrow added a jumper to make it a one-point game at the 2:50 mark. Zastrow's score was one of only two the Wildcat defense allowed in the final three minutes of the game.

Jaeschke responded with a layup on an assist from Cartwright and freshman Brittany Orban (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) sunk two free throws with 2:07 left on the clock to put the 'Cats up by five. A jumper from Karel was all UW could muster the rest of the way as Northwestern held on for the victory.

"Every day I've been here we've just tried to move forward," McKeown said. "Today we played for 40 minutes and we were able to handle it when Wisconsin made their run. That was the difference in the game."

Mocchi finished with 10 points, including two treys, and four rebounds while Cartwright turned in eight points and five boards. Orban pulled down a Wildcat-high six rebounds.

The Wildcats are next in action when they travel to East Lansing to meet the Spartans in a 6 p.m. CT contest on Thursday, Jan. 8.