SIGNATURE WIN FOR ’CATS
As Northwestern struggled through the past couple seasons, Boo Buie and Chase Audige learned some tough lessons — on poise, and finishing strong, and competing.
Northwestern 64, No. 1 Purdue 58
That’s how they got to Sunday, and one historic victory for the Wildcats.
Buie scored 26 points and Audige had 15, leading host Northwestern to a 64-58 win over Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue in Evanston, Ill.
“We put in so much work together and we’ve been through so many ups and downs,” Buie said. “It’s finally starting to show what the real us is.”
Led by its experienced backcourt and supported by a rowdy student section behind each basket, Northwestern (18-7, 9-5 Big Ten) added a signature win to its bid for the school’s second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Wildcats got their first win in 19 games against the No. 1 team in the AP poll.
Northwestern’s 18 wins are the most for the school since it went 24-12 during the 2016-17 season, losing to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA tourney. It went 32-55 in the previous three years before finding its stride against this season.
“We had a bunch of guys that stayed the course and stayed loyal to the program and fought,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said, “and we had a great offseason.
“When you have a day like this, you know it can be emotional because you know there’s a lot of hard work by a lot of people to make this happen.”
Purdue (23-3, 12-3) had won 11 in a row against Northwestern, but the Boilermakers stumbled down the stretch. They shot just 28.6 percent (6
for 21) and committed 13 of their 16 turnovers in the second half.
Edey had 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots, but the 7-foot-4 center turned it over six times. Freshman Braden Smith had 10 points on 1-for-7 shooting.
“Just got to show more poise and toughness than we did,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
Edey’s hook shot lifted Purdue to a 55-47 lead with 3:52 to go. But Northwestern closed the game with a 17-3 run.
Women’s top 10 No. 1 South Carolina 88, No. 3 LSU 64:
Kamilla Cardoso had 18 points and 13 rebounds, Zia Cooke scored 17 and host South Carolina beat LSU in a showdown of the last two unbeaten teams.
Aliyah Boston finished with 14 points and nine boards to help the Gamecocks (25-0, 12-0 Southeastern Conference) win
their 31st straight game.
Billed as a showcase between reigning AP player of the year Boston and Angel Reese, the game quickly become a highlight reel of South Carolina’s experience, talent and depth. The Gamecocks ran out to an 18-2 lead as they ended the record start of LSU (23-1, 11-1).
Alexis Morris led LSU (23-1, 11-1) with 23 points and six rebounds, while Reese finished with 16 points and four rebounds — her first game of the season without double-figure boards.
No. 5 Iowa 111, Rutgers 57: Molly Davis scored a seasonhigh 17 points, Caitlin Clark added 15 points and 10 assists as Iowa (20-5, 12-2 Big Ten) blew out visiting Rutgers (10-16, 4-10).
No. 6 Stanford 96, Arizona State 64:
Agnes Emma-Nnopu had 17 points and Cameron Brink had 15 points and eight rebounds despite playing only
12 minutes to help Stanford (24-3, 12-2 Pac-12) to a lopsided victory at Arizona State (7-16, 014).
No. 7 Utah 73, Washington State 59: Alissa Pili scored 15 points and Gianna Kneepkens had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead host Utah (22-2, 12-2 Pac-12) over Washington State (16-9, 6-8).
No. 8 Maryland 82, Illinois 71: Diamond Miller scored 31 points, and Maryland (21-5, 12-3 Big Ten) rallied from an 11point first-half deficit to beat visiting Illinois (19-7, 9-6).
No. 9 Duke 50, Miami 40: Reigan Richardson scored a season-high 14 points and host Duke (22-3, 12-2) turned in another strong defensive performance to beat Miami (16-9, 9-5) and stay at the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
No. 10 Notre Dame 73, Syracuse 64: Kylee Watson scored 15 points and Notre Dame (20-4, 11-3 ACC) held off Syracuse (1610, 7-8) for a home victory.