EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern fought back from a 47-45 deficit after the third quarter to knock off the Air Force Falcons 64-58 at home Saturday.
The Wildcats (6-5) had three players score in double figures, led by Caileigh Walsh, who had 13 points. Sydney Wood also scored 13 points while logging seven rebounds and five steals, and Paige Mott chipped in as well with 10 points.
Northwestern collected 39 rebounds in Saturday’s game compared to Air Force’s 29, led by Jillian Brown’s seven boards. The Wildcats also put in work on the offensive glass, turning 12 rebounds into 12 second chance points.
On defense, the ‘Cats forced 22 Air Force turnovers. They turned those takeaways into 16 points on the offensive end of the floor. Wood’s five steals led the way for Northwestern.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 4-3 advantage, Northwestern went on a 6-0 run with 6:22 left in the first quarter, culminating in a bucket from Walsh, to increase its lead to 10-3. The Wildcats then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 15-9 advantage. Northwestern did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring 14 of its 15 points close to the basket.
The Wildcats surrendered their lead in the second quarter and entered halftime with the score tied 29-29.
Air Force proceeded to claw their way ahead after halftime, leaving Northwestern trailing 47-45 as the game entered the fourth quarter. Northwestern took advantage of seven Air Force turnovers in the quarter, scoring five points off of takeaways.
The Wildcats narrowed their deficit to 58-57 before going on a 7-0 run to seize a 64-58 lead with eight seconds to go in the contest, a score which would hold for the rest of the game. Northwestern took advantage of nine Air Force turnovers in the quarter, scoring 10 points off of those takeaways.
Game Notes
» The Wildcats rallied from a two-point 47-45 third quarter deficit to pick up the win.
» The Wildcats held the Falcons to only 36.4 percent shooting from the field.
» The Northwestern bench made an impact by adding 22 points to its scoring output.
» Northwestern had a 39-29 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Northwestern defense forced 22 turnovers.
» Northwestern cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Caileigh…
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