Game Notes
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Feb. 22, 2006

EVANSTON, Ill. -- This week's contests at Penn State and at Minnesota cap off the 2005-06 season for the Wildcats. Northwestern will travel to Indianapolis next Wednesday, March 1, for the Big Ten Tournament.

"Ending the season with two road trips is a challenge we embrace," said head coach Beth Combs. "We did not play well against Penn State last time and need to get back on the court with them to see where we are as a team. Playing at Minnesota for senior day will be tough, but anything can happen in this league and we are looking forward to seeing what we can bring on the road."

Last Time Out
Despite 23 points from senior Ifeoma Okonkwo, Illinois edged Northwestern, 60-59, on a 3-point play with 2.6 seconds remaining on Thursday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats also received double-digit efforts from Nadia Bibbs and A.J. Glasauer on Senior Night.

Okonkwo went over the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season thanks to an 8-of-16 effort including 6-of-8 from the free throw line. She carried the Wildcats down the stretch, scoring 15 of the 'Cats 33 points after the break.

Down eight early in the second half, Northwestern used a 16-3 outburst to take a 42-37 lead. After trading baskets with Illinois for the next three minutes, Bibbs' driving layup gave the 'Cats their largest lead of the game, 53-44, with six minutes to play.

Bibbs scored 12 points and added 6 rebounds in a hard-fought match up with Illinois' leading scorer Janelle Hughes, who paced the Illini with 21 points off the bench.

Glasauer also had 12 points for NU. She contributed on both ends of the floor, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out four assists and three steals.

Northwestern's tough defense early forced Illinois to miss their first seven shots from the field. Illinois managed as many as nine in the first half, but Northwestern used a 12-4 spurt over the last five minutes of the half to cut the lead to 27-26 at the break.

Scouting Penn State
The Lady Lions (11-14, 5-9) enter Thursday's contest with a week to prepare for NU. Penn State is coming off a 66-56 loss to Wisconsin at home a week ago, but were without two key players, starter Charity Renfro and Brittany Remmey. Two Lady Lions hit the double-digit mark as Mashea Williams and Amanda Brown had 13 and 14 points, respectively. Brown has been a force for the Lady Lions all season, leading the team in scoring (15.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg). Kamela Gissendanner compliments Brown on the perimeter, averaging 14.8 ppg.

The Series
Thursday's game is the 28th meeting between Northwestern and Penn State. The Lady Lions hold a 21-6 lead over NU, though the Wildcats broke a 12-game losing streak last year with a 59-48 victory in Evanston. It was Northwestern's first over a ranked opponent since Jan. 17, 1999, when NU bested No. 17 Ohio State, 48-41. This season, Penn State downed NU, 91-48, at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Nadia Bibbs led the Wildcats with 10 points and eight rebounds.br>

Senior Leading the Way
Not only has Ifeoma Okonkwo led the team in scoring on nine different occasions, but she has also led the team in rebounding in 14-of-25 games. The senior is fifth in the conference in rebounding, with 7.4 caroms per game and is 10th in the league in scoring with 14.2 ppg. Okonkwo has scored in double-figures in 15 games so far this season, including six games where she has eclipsed the 20-point plateau. For complete notes, please click on the pdf attached at the top of this release.