Northwestern barely sneaks past Minnesota with 65-60 win in Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Despite a rocky first half for Northwestern, senior leadership in the second half led the Wildcats in thrilling win over No. 10 Minnesota.
Northwestern ended the first half shooting below 32 percent from the field (11-35), and just 1-15 from the 3-point arc. The Golden Gophers had a one point lead heading into halftime (29-28).
In a win or go home situation, the Wildcats and Gophers traded baskets the entire second half. Two Minnesota players combined for 36 points: Sara Scalia (18 points, 7-19 FG, 4-10 3PT) and Kadiatou Sissoko (18 points, 7-18 FG, 4-10 FT, 10 rebounds).
The Wildcats' senior spark was led by Veronica Burton, who nearly had a triple-double of 18 points (4-15 FG, 10-10 FT), seven rebounds, and eight assists. Courtney Shaw had her seventh double-double on the year with ten points and 11 rebounds. Lauren Satterwhite added 15 points for the 'Cats.
Northwestern nearly escaped an upset by Gophers head coach Lindsey Whalen and her squad. The Wildcats posted a season-low shooting performance: They were 36.5 percent (23-63) from the field, 13 percent (3-23) from the 3-point line, and 57 percent (16-28) from the stripe.
The Wildcats capitalized off second-chance points (15), had nine steals to the Gophers one, and outscored Minnesota in the paint (38-32), to advance to the Big Ten quarterfinals.
The Wildcats are back in action Friday against the nation's leading scorer and Big Ten Player of the Year, Caitlin Clark (27.5 ppg), as they take on the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Northwestern and Iowa tip off at 5:30 p.m. CT on Big Ten Network.
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Bailey Eichner is a Reporter for Wildcats Daily on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Follow Bailey on Twitter: @BaileyEichner