NO. 16 NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: GAME INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	WATCH	LIVE STATS
Sunday, Jan. 10	No. 23 Michigan St.	1 p.m. CST	Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)	Big Ten Network	GameTracker
Social: Twitter (@NUWBBall and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@NUWBBall) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Michigan State

EVANSTON, Ill. - The No. 16 Wildcats will head to East Lansing, Mich., for a top-25 matchup against No. 23 Michigan State on Sunday. Tip off is slated for 1 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Overall Record: 11-3, 2-1 B1G
All-Time Series Record: Michigan State leads 41-24
NOTABLES
• Junior forward Aerial Powers posted her third-straight double-double and fifth double-double of the season and 39th of her career with 21 points and 10 rebounds against Penn State. Powers leads the Spartans with 18.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
• The Spartans are seventh in the nation and second in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal defense, as opponents are shooting only 24.5 percent from beyond the arc. Northwestern is first in the conference (24.0 percent). Eight times this season, the Spartans have held opponents to under 25.0 percent from the 3-point line.
• Michigan State is sixth in the nation and second in the Big Ten in rebound margin (+14.7). Maryland is first in the nation and the league (+19.2). The Spartans have out-rebounded their opponents in 12 of 13 games this season. The only time that MSU was out-rebounded this season was a 84-76 loss to No. 5 Baylor on Nov. 28. The Bears out-rebounded the Spartans, 34-30.
• Last season, Michigan State finished the year 16-15 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten action. Suzy Merchant and the squad chose to forgo any postseason at the conclusion of the 2014-15 regular season slate.

FACEOFF FACTS
Northwestern and Purdue take to the hardwood for the 66th time on Thursday. Purdue has dominated the series, historically, winning 41 of the 66 total matchups between the Big Ten rivals. Northwestern has won the two most recent matchups to snap a 20-game losing streak against the Spartans.

STRONG START
The Wildcats won 10-straight games to open the season for the second-straight year. NU was one of just two Big Ten teams to open the season with 10-consecutive wins before dropping its first game of the year against No. 16 DePaul on Dec. 19. Northwestern closed out its non-conference slate with an 11-1 mark for the best start to a season under head coach Joe McKeown.

WELCOME TO MY HOUSE
The Wildcats are 7-2 at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season, beating opponents by an average of 23.0 points in Evanston. At home, NU averaged 78.6 points per game while shooting 42.5 percent from the field. Defensively, the Wildcats limited the opposition to 55.6 points per game at a clip of 33.9 percent while creating 21.0 turnovers per contest with a turnover margin of +8.9.

THREES COMPANY
The Wildcats have tallied at least five 3-point field goals in all but one game so far this season, including eight games with seven or more and two games with double-digit trifectas. Christen Inman, who recorded five triples against Nebraska, and Maggie Lyon, who tallied five against Creighton, are the only two players to record at least five 3-pointers in a single game so far this season. The Wildcats sit third in the Big Ten in 3-point field goals made with 105 and first in the conference in triples made in Big Ten play with 25 total.

WILDCATS IN THE POLLS
Northwestern women's basketball tipped off the 2015-16 season ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 Poll. The 'Cats have been ranked for nine-straight weeks to start the season and were ranked as high as No. 12 in the AP Poll. It marked the highest rankings since the 1991-92 season when the 'Cats were touted as high as 11. NU enters the week ranked No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll.

COFFEY ROLLS ALONG
Nia Coffey tallied her 1,000th-career point in the 'Cats season-opening win over Howard. The junior became the second active Wildcat to accomplish the feat, and joined eight other players in the Big Ten's 1,000-point club.

The junior was named to the 2015-16 Preseason All-Big Ten team, and was named First-Team All-Big Ten in 2015. Coffey scored in double figures in 31 contests during the 2014-15 season and poured in 20-plus points on seven occasions. Coffey was one of just two Big Ten Players to rank among the league's top 10 in points (15.2 ppg), rebounds (9.7 rpg) and blocks (1.8 bpg), while recording a team-best 14 double-doubles on the year.

This year, Coffey was named to the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30 List. The list is comprised of 30 student-athletes who are the early front-runners for college basketball's most prestigious honor. She was also named to the The Naismith Trophy Early Season Watch List.

So far this year, the junior had recorded eight 20+ point performances, including a season-high 27 points in the 'Cats home opener against Howard. Coffey has scored in double figures in 30-straight games, dating back to Jan. 22, 2015, and is averaging a team-best 19.0 points per game. She leads the Big Ten in double-doubles with nine and is one of just 18 current active Division I players with 31+ career double-doubles.

LYON LINES
Maggie Lyon has scored nearly half (702) of her 1,436 career points from 3-point range. Lyon is second in program history in 3-point field goals made with 235 and is tied for second on NU's single-season record list with 83 triples during the 2014-15 season. She is just nine 3-pointers shy of tying Northwestern's all-time record for career triples.

Lyon has led the 'Cats in scoring in six games this season, including career-best 31-point performance against North Carolina.

OH, DEAR(Y)!
Ashley Deary has had a stellar start to the 2015-16 season, recording double digit scoring in all 14 games this year. She led the 'Cats in scoring against Western Michigan (11/22/15) with a career-best 25 points and added a career-high 12 assists to mark a program single-game best. At North Carolina, Deary surpassed the 400-assists career mark and became just the fourth active Big Ten Player to accomplish the feat. She ranks fourth on the squad in scoring, averaging 14.5 points per game.

Ashley Deary recorded 10 steals against Eastern Washington to mark the second most by an individual in the NCAA to date this season. The junior leads the country in steals per game with 4.73 per contest and ranks among the top 10 current active Division I players in career assists (455) and steals (241).

TURNOVER FOR WHAT?!
In the Wildcats' non-conference finale against UMKC, NU committed just two turnovers while forcing 24. The 'Cats two turnovers were the fewest in Joe McKeown's coaching career and ties for the fewest among Division I teams this season. Northern Colorado also committed just two against Western State on Nov. 16.

ROAD WARRIORS
The Wildcats' spend Thanksgiving tournament in Austin, Texas, where the squad went 3-0 on the week. NU was the only team (in an eight team field) to go undefeated with wins over Eastern Washington, Creighton and East Carolina. NU followed up with a win over North Carolina in its first true road-game of the season and a win over cross-town rival Loyola before dopping its first road game of the season at Penn State. The Wildcats are 5-1 away from Welsh-Ryan Arena.

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No. 16 NU Looks to Rebound at No. 23 Michigan State

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nia Coffey

Ashley Deary

Christen Inman

Maggie Lyon

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics

No. 16 NU Looks to Rebound at No. 23 Michigan State

••••••

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nia Coffey

Ashley Deary

Christen Inman

Maggie Lyon

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