Feb. 27, 2005

Box Score

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Evanston, Ill. - The women's basketball team gave No. 15 Minnesota all they could handle Sunday afternoon but it wasn't enough as the Golden Gophers edged Northwestern 70-62 at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Freshman Sara Stutz (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) exploded for a team-high and career-best 22 points along with seven rebounds.

Junior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) and senior Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) joined Stutz in double-figures, adding 12 and 11 points, respectively.

It was a game of high emotions, as four seniors-- Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick), Samantha McComb, Melissa Culver (Littleton, Colo./Heritage) and Morrison--were playing the final home game of their careers. The Wildcats welcomed the Golden Gophers with a first half 60.9 shooting percentage, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc which boosted NU into a 41-36 half time lead.

The hard-fought game included 10 ties and 10 lead changes until the 2:50 mark of the second half when Jamie Broback hit a layup to give Minnesota a 61-59 lead. Northwestern clawed back to within six points with 15 seconds remaining, but April Calhoun hit two free throws to put the game out of reach.

Broback led all scorers with 26 points, and Janel McCarville recorded her conference-leading 11th double-double of the season, tallying 18 points and pulling down 12 rebounds.

The Wildcats wrap up the regular season with a 5-24 overall record, and a 2-14 mark in league play. Northwestern, the tenth seed in the Big Ten Tournament, will play seventh-seeded Illinois at 4:30 CT Thursday, March 3 in Indianapolis.