Dec. 16, 2003

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Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern took advantage of the 2,657 screaming home fans at Welsh-Ryan and took home its second win in three games after defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 60-57. The game concludes a four-game home stretch for the 'Cats and is the first of three scheduled to be played this week.

Local schools were invited to attend Tuesday's game free of charge, which included a pre-game address by former U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball head coach Nell Fortner. The Jesse White Tumblers performed for the students at halftime.

Key to Northwestern's (4-3) attack was Ifeoma Okonkwo who led the Wildcats with 13 points and 13 boards for her first career double-double. The sophomore established career highs for points and rebounds versus the Mountaineers and was responsible for eight of NU's last 12 points, as well as all but two total rebounds.

"We've had time to really work some of our offense and it really paid off today," said Northwestern head coach June Olkowski. "We executed and we defended. That was critical in everything we did. Keeping them off the free throw line was one of our goals and we succeeded. We also did a great job on the offensive glass -- 15 (rebounds) is a lot for us."

West Virginia (6-3) held a slight lead in the opening minutes with the Wildcats unable to put up more than two until the 14-minute mark. NU then strung together an 11-0 run with the help of three Mountaineer turnovers for an eight-point lead, the greatest lead in the contest.

"We knew we wouldn't hold them scoreless, but we wanted to force them to take tough shots," said Olkowski. "We did a great job in transition defense. (Transition offense) is a big part of their game and we did a great job taking that away from them."

While WVU later tied it at 20, the 'Cats kept their cool and carried a 27-22 lead into the locker room at the half.

The Mountaineers came out of halftime with a 15-3 run while the 'Cats again struggled to gain the momentum in the opening minutes of the half. A three-pointer by junior Melissa Culver brought the life back into NU's bench as it was the first of five consecutive shots that helped regain the Wildcat lead.

The teams battled through the last minutes of the game with each holding a one-point lead late. Back-to-back field goals by Sarah Kwasinski and Okonkwo gave the 'Cats the win as West Virginia was not able to put up a shot in the remaining seconds.

Northwestern held the advantage in shooting percentage (.426 to .391) and foul shot attempts (12 to 1), while committing 15 turnovers to the Mountaineers' eight. However, the 'Cats made a marked improvement in that category in the second half, turning the ball over just four times.

Culver ended the game with 10 points, the team's second-leading scorer, while leading the Wildcats with a pair of three-pointers and steals. Kwasinski had eight points and nine rebounds. Junior Maria McCarthy also added a career-high seven points in the contest.

Northwestern will stay local for Thursday's game at Illinois-Chicago before departing on Friday for Southern Illinois. Game times are set for 7 and 2 p.m., respectively.