By: Justin Nam /// NNN Sports
1st Half Reaction
1. Offensive Rebounds Galore
Coming into this contest, the Wildcats ranked dead last in offensive rebounds per game (10.9) in the Big Ten. Contrary to their season performances thus far, they posted an impressive nine o-boards in the 1st half. Rutgers isn’t normally a rebounding machine, ranked 8th in the Big Ten in defensive rebound percentage (.669), but the Wildcats will look to build on their early success. That said, they also allowed five offensive rebounds to Rutgers, a statistic they have struggled with all season long.
2. Maggie Lyon On Fire
Lyon already as 13 points on an efficient 5-8 shooting at the end of the 1st half. She is also 3-6 from beyond the arch, stretching her current 3-point shooting streak to 33 straight games. Coming into the game Lyon was ranked 9th in the Big Ten in 3-point shooting percentage at 38.8 percent. She currently leads all scorers in this game and has also posted three rebounds and three assists to add to her point total.
3. Shooting Woes
Although the Wildcats have a 32-24 halftime lead, they have struggled early on from the field. They are currently shooting 37.8 percent (14-37). Coming into this one the ‘Cats were ranked 7th in the Big Ten shooting 41.8 percent from the field. Several of the missed attempts were a result of missed layups by the ‘Cats. The opportunities were available for Northwestern as they were able to break apart Rutgers’ early full-court press, but many shots were missed, including an uncharacteristic botched wide open layup by Nia Coffey with 7:18 remaining in the 1st. She bore much of the struggles from the field, shooting only 3-11.