Area college players symbolize National Girls and Women in Sports Day
National Girls and Women in Sports Day Wednesday gave area college sports teams reason to celebrate.
National Girls and Women in Sports Day began in 1987 to bring national attention to females in sports and to honor achievements.
Sadly, back then, we needed a day. Less so now, but it's still always good to earmark some time to be especially conscious of all that women achieve through sports.
Speaking of, the Northwestern women's basketball team is overachieving.
The Wildcats have caught the Big Ten by surprise and sit in second place in the conference at 9-2. They are 19-3 overall and ranked No. 21 in The Associated Press poll.
“A lot of good things are obviously happening for this program right now,” coach Joe McKeown said. “Being back in the Top 25, these guys have worked hard all year. You try to keep your team focused on the next game and grounded.”
Northwestern wasn't picked in the preseason to finish in the top five. Only Lindsey Pulliam was chosen for the preseason all-conference team.
Many players now rank among the league's best in various statistical categories.
Four players average double figures, led by Pulliam, who ranks third in the Big Ten in scoring at 19.2 points per game. Abi Scheid (11.8 ppg), Abbie Wolf (11.7 ppg) and Veronica Burton (10.1 ppg) give Northwestern versatility and plenty of scoring options.
“We have multiple scorers,” McKeown said. “We don't feel like we are dependent on one or two people scoring.”
Meanwhile, Scheid, who tied a Big Ten record last month by hitting all six 3-pointers in a win over Penn State, leads the league in 3-point percentage at 50.5, while Burton is tied for second in the Big Ten in assists (5.4 apg) and leads in steals (3.7 spg).
Sophomore guard Sydney Wood and Burton also rank No. 1 and 2 in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.8 and 2.6, respectively.
The Wildcats seem to be parlaying their strong finish into a serious run at the Big Ten title. Last season, Northwestern advanced to the WNIT championship game.
At DePaul, there's the usual success with the team, which gives the area another Division I power.
The Blue Demons, ranked No. 14 nationally, sit atop the Big East at 10-1. They are 20-3 overall with losses coming to national powers Connecticut and Oregon State.
DePaul leads the league in most major statistics — points, 3-pointers, assists, offensive rebounds, steals, assist-to-turnover ratio, forced turnovers and turnover margin.
DePaul has double-figure scorers in Chante Stonewall (17.1 ppg), Sonya Morris (16.3 ppg), Lexi Held (14.9 ppg) and Deja Church (10.4 ppg).
Versatile point guard Kelly Campbell, who just recorded the second triple-double of her career, leads the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio (6) and is second in assists (7.7).
Stonewall leads the league in steals (2.5) and Morris is second (2.3).
The Blue Demons could earn a host gig for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament at Wintrust Arena.
At Loyola, the women's basketball team started 9-0 for its best start in history. The Ramblers are 14-7 and led by one of the best scorers (Abby O'Connor, 14.7 ppg) and one of the best playmakers (Tiara Wallace, 4.5 apg) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Meanwhile, six weeks into the gymnastics season, Illinois is ranked No. 25 in the nation and boasts a talented freshman in Mia Takekawa, who ranks 15th in the nation in the all-around with an average score of 39.325.
Takekawa's 10.0 in January is one of four perfect scores in the country on the beam, and her eight individual titles are the most by an Illini freshman since Allison Buckley won 19 in 2008.
The Northern Illinois women's gymnastics team is 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference after posting its highest team score of the season last weekend in a 195.075-194.550 win over Central Michigan.
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