By Anna Watson

Northwestern women’s basketball beat Southeast Missouri State 76-68 on Sunday afternoon. 

Caileigh Walsh had a double-double, scoring a team-high 27 points with 14 rebounds. Melannie Daley also had an impressive day, scoring 17 points and adding six rebounds and assists.

Northwestern opened the scoring with a layup by Paige Mott. Within the first minutes of the game, however, the ‘Cats had two passes fly out of bounds, turning the ball over to SEMO. Fortunately, a strong first quarter by Cailiegh Walsh was able to keep the Wildcats alive. Walsh hit two three-pointers and scored 13 points in the opening frame. Maggie Pina scored a three-pointer from the corner just before the end of the first quarter to give the cats a 25-16 lead. 

The second quarter was a completely different story than the first. As SEMO got hot, the Wildcats got cold, going as long as three minutes without a field goal. Southeast Missouri’s Indiya Bowen hit two three pointers at the beginning of the quarter, forcing the ‘Cats to take a timeout. While Mott was able to add two points for Northwestern after the timeout, SEMO retained their momentum.

After Mott’s score, the Redhawks hit two more threes. Jaliyah Green’s three-pointer put SEMO within one point, and Bowen’s third three-pointer put the Redhawks in the lead, forcing another Northwestern timeout. Once again, the Northwestern timeout did not slow down the Redhawks. Green hit back to back shots: one a two-point jumper and the other from beyond the arch. Additional field goals by Green, Megan Barton and Amiyah Buchanan gave SEMO a 40-34 lead at halftime. 

Adjustments made by the Wildcats at halftime provided the spark they needed to get back in the game. A dominant third quarter by Hailey Weaver and Melannie Daley helped the ‘Cats retake the lead. Weaver hit a three-pointer just after play resumed. She also made a tough play to tie the game. Weaver shot a layup, rebounded her own shot and drew a foul to go to the line. She hit both free-throws, tying the game at 42. A Caileigh Walsh field goal pushed the ‘Cats over the hump and gave them the lead. After the Wildcats retook the lead, Daley exploded for 8 points during the last four minutes of the third quarter. The Wildcats had a seven point lead heading into the final quarter.

Northwestern settled in and ran away with the game in the fourth quarter. It was a team effort, fueled by Weaver, Walsh and Daley who combined for 12 points in the quarter. The lead got as large as 10, but SEMO’s Alecia Doyle went 4 for 7 with 10 points, cutting it down to eight. Northwestern’s 42 second-half points helped propel the squad to its third victory of the season.

The Wildcats will return to the court against Florida State in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 22.