SECOND HALF NOTES:

–Strong effort, as always, for Maggie Lyon on her senior day. She drained threes, attacked the rim with reckless abandon, and finished with a team-high 25 points. Lyon fouled out with 30 seconds remaining and exited to a standing ovation.

-Don’t look now, but Ashley Deary has nine points and nine assists after setting up Inman for a triple late in the fourth.

–NU’s lack of bodies again became a factor late in this one. PKA with four fouls was force to “guard” Brionna Jones down the stretch, and the Maryland big imposed her will in the game’s critical juncture.

–At this point, Maryland leads in bench points 24-0. Pfirman hits a fadeaway, she’s been huge and now has 14 off the bench.

–Coffey fouled out on a block-charge call with 6:14 remaining, but the Wildcats responded well immediately after her disqualification, pulling within five with 5:34 to go.

–PKA became the first non-core-four player to score for Northwestern on a layup with 6:30 to go.

-Maryland’s Brene Mosely got a technical foul after making a layup. She thought she was fouled by Inman and voiced her displeasure to the official.

–A whopping 21 turnovers for Maryland two minutes into the fourth quarter. ‘Cats really haven’t taken advantage of a big discrepancy.

–Foul trouble really a factor now, as PKA picks up her fourth personal a minute into the fourth quarter.

–After Maryland held an early 12-0 advantage on points in the paint, the ‘Cats battled back inside and the teams are even on interior scoring, 20-20, as the fourth quarter begins.

–Bizarre sequence late in the third, as Coffey appeared to be headed to the line for two free throws to cut the deficit to single-digits, but the call on the floor was reversed and Coffey was whistled for a charge, her fourth personal foul.

–NU has turned around nicely since that disastrous first quarter. The ‘Cats outscored the Terps 41-31 over the second and third quarters.

-Maryland executed a perfect 7-0 counter-run to bring the lead back to 16. Confroy found Pfirman for a corner triple. Pfirman now has 12 off the pine, and Maryland’s bench is outscoring NU’s, 13-0.

-A pair of three-point possessions (Coffey triple, Lyon and-one) extended the run to 15-0 and brought the ‘Cats within nine, 46-37.

-Deary provided energy in the third quarter, picking up a couple early steals and sparking a 9-0 Wildcat run. The spurt cut Maryland’s lead to 46-31, and forced Maryland coach Brenda Freese to take a timeout four minutes into the second half.

-Coffey started out hot in the second half, converting her first two field goal attempts.

-Confroy and Pavlech hit early-quarter triples from the same exact spot on the court, the near corner. Confroy has a sneaky five assists early in the third quarter, and the Terps have assisted on 14 of their first 18 made field goals.

FIRST HALF NOTES:

-Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was #good. She scored 7 points in the first three minutes and willed Maryland to a 9-0 lead. She single-handedly outscored the Wildcats in the first half (22-18), and also collected seven first half rebounds.

-As a team, Maryland is #good. Unless they’re playing the Buckeyes, that is. The Terps have as many losses this season as single-digit victories (3), and have lost to UConn, Ohio State, and Ohio State again.

-Cold Coffey: Northwestern’s star picked up two early fouls, missed her first 10 shots, and struggled with Maryland’s interior size. She made her first field goal with 2:40 left before halftime. The Terps held a 12-0 advantage on points in the paint midway through the second quarter.

-On senior day, Maggie Lyon scored Northwestern’s first basket and led the ‘Cats in scoring with 8 first-half points. She connected on two triples and completed a nice drive late in the half.

-Maryland’s Tierney Pfirman caught fire at the end of the first quarter, scoring seven points including a three-pointer from the far corner to beat the quarter buzzer. The Terps held an 8-0 lead in bench points at halftime.

-It was a tough first half for the Wildcats’ “Core Four,” as Coffey and Inman combined to shoot 1-for-19 from the floor, while Deary was 2-of-7 and Lyon went 3-for-8. All other players for Northwestern were held scoreless in the first half and attempted only three shots.

-Northwestern made its second field goal early in the second quarter, and the Terps didn’t make a basket for the first six-and-a-half minutes of the second period, until (you guessed it) Walker-Kimbrough converted an and-one. The Wildcats forced Maryland into 11 first-half turnovers, but only converted them in to eight points.

-The senior day ceremony took place before the game. Tessa Haldes, Christen Johnson, Nof Kedem, and Maggie Lyon were honored pre-game. The ceremony moved Lyon to tears and the crowd gave her a standing ovation. Senior Lauren Douglas escorted Kedem onto the court, but was not herself recognized. Douglas has not played this season.