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Rapid Reaction: Northwestern beats Lewis in 71-39 victory through gritty defense, transition points
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- Rapid Reaction: Northwestern beats Lewis in 71-39 victory through gritty defense, transition points
Northwestern rolled past Division II opponent Lewis, 71-39, to open the Carla Berube era. The Wildcats' gritty defense, physicality, and transition lethality helped them string together a 17-0 run in the first quarter and never look back.
Casey Harter led Northwestern with 24 points on 9-for-18 shooting, including four three-pointers. Lily Carmody added 15 points, while Jasmyn Cooper-Derba scored 10 points. Camdyn Nelson posted a near triple-double – 10 points, eight assists, and eight boards – in 30 minutes of action.
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Mallory Ramage paced Lewis in scoring with 15 points, followed by Ella Moser with nine and Megen Senaj with five.
In her first game in charge, NU head coach Carla Berube rolled out a starting lineup of junior guard Lexi Blue, junior guard Carmody, senior guard Harter, sophomore guard Nelson and sophomore forward Cooper-Derba. Harter was the only returner to start for the Wildcats on Friday night. Lewis started Autumn Rucker, Sanaj, Ramage, Jasmine Jones and Kree Nunnally.
Harter opened the scoring with a three-pointer after Nelson found her wide open on the wing. Ramage responded with back-to-back three-pointers, putting Lewis up 6-3. It would be the last field goal Lewis made until 3:34 remained in the second quarter.
Berube said at media day that the Wildcats spent a lot of time working on their defense, and the opening quarter showed it. The Flyers' scoring drought lasted 9:49 of game time, and they failed to score a field goal from 18 attempts. NU swarmed Lewis' ball handlers, kept their hands active, and stayed physical in the paint.
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'Cats pushed the ball upcourt after turnovers and winning rebounds, outscoring the Flyers 11-0 in the fast break and 14-3 off of turnovers. NU also challenged Lewis' bigs in the restricted area. Kat Righeimer's close-range layup closed out the first quarter, and the Wildcats scored 17 unanswered points to finish the first frame with Northwestern up 20-6.
The Wildcats got off to another solid start in the second quarter. Cooper-Derba converted an and-one layup with 5:36 remaining in the quarter, pushing the Wildcats' lead to 19. NU did the dirty work: taking charges, scrapping for rebounds, and diving for loose balls.
Lewis went on a 7-0 run to close out the second half, capped by a jumper from Nunnally. Despite the run, Northwestern still led 35-20 entering halftime. Carmody and Harter each had a team-high eight points to end the half, while Nelson posted six points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 19 minutes of action.
NU went on an 8-1 scoring run to start the third quarter, highlighted by an end-to-end play from Carmody, who grabbed a rebound and buried a three-pointer to put the Wildcats up 41-21. Ramage's free throw ended Lewis' 4:18 scoring drought, but they still couldn't find the momentum to mount a serious attack on Northwestern's huge lead, even as the Wildcat offense slowed down.
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Northwestern went on a roughly six-minute scoring drought, ending with a fast-break layup from Cooper-Derba. The 'Cats continued to frustrate Lewis' offense, outscoring Lewis 16-6 in the third quarter, ending the penultimate frame up 51-26.
Lewis started the quarter out on the right foot, connecting on three straight field goals. However, Harter responded with back-to-back layups, stretching the lead back out to 59-34. Blue hit a three-pointer to stretch the 'Cats' lead to 27 points, and Righeimer's three-pointer gave NU a 68-37 lead with under two minutes remaining.
Harter sank a three-pointer, and Lewis' Alejandra Escriva scored a pull-up jumper to end the action, sealing Northwestern's 71-39 win.
Next, Northwestern faces UW-Milwaukee on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. CT in Welsh-Ryan Arena to kick off the season, with the game streaming on Big Ten Plus.
