CHICAGO – Chicago State women's basketball received 22-point efforts from senior Courtney Waldon (Sun Prairie, WI/Sun Prairie) (Sun Prairie, Wis.) and junior Janay Dockery (Detroit, MI/Martin Luther King) (Detroit, Mich.) Sunday afternoon at host Northwestern, but the host Wildcats came back in the second half to slip past the Cougars by a score of 75-73 at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.
The Green and White, who opened the game with an early 17-10 lead in the first five minutes, later scored six straight points to increase its leading margin to 25-14 at the 12:09 mark. After NU sliced its deficit to 25-19, CSU recorded a 13-4 run in a five-minute span to put its lead back to double figures at 40-25 with 5:18 left in the stanza following a layup by senior Tressa Beckel (Waseca, Minn./Wisconsin) (Waseca, Minn.). The Wildcats posted a 12-6 scoring drive down the stretch to close within 46-37 heading into halftime.
The second half opened with both teams splitting eight points in the stanza's opening four minutes before senior Amy Jaeschke tallied seven straight points to pull NU within seven at 54-47 with 13:42 left in regulation. The home team later closed within three points at the 12:22 mark, but Waldon drained a three-pointer at 11:27 to bring the Cougars' leading margin back to 57-51, and later extended their lead to 61-53 with a jumper at the 8:13 mark.
An 11-0 run in a three-minute stretch helped NU regain the lead at 64-61 with 5:06 remainining in the game that ended with a layup from senior Beth Marshall. Senior Caila Desroches (Long Island, NY/Monroe CC) (Long Island, N.Y.) drained a jumper at the 2:15 mark to bring CSU within 67-63, but the Wildcats scored eight of the next 15 points to increase their advantage to 75-70 in the final second before Dockery canned a three for the final margin.
Beckel finished with a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago State. Desroches and senior Elana Wroten (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) each added six points and five boards.
Jaeschke recorded a triple-double with game highs of 30 points, 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots to lead Northwestern. Marshall posted 22 points and a game-high six assists, and freshman Kendall Hackney added 12 points and five steals.
The Cougars return to action on Wednesday night as they host Indiana University Northwest at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center with the opening tip set for 7 p.m.
~CSU~
