EVANSTON, Ill. – A late-game scoring drought stymied the Wisconsin women's basketball team as it dropped a 69-60 decision at Northwestern Thursday night.

A 3-pointer from Suzanne Gilreath put the Badgers (7-11 overall, 0-5 B1G) up 56-54 with 4:15 to play in the game before the Wildcats (9-10, 2-3) went on a 12-0 run to lead 66-56 with 23 seconds remaining. A free throw by Courtney Fredrickson with 19 seconds to play stopped the Northwestern scoring streak but the NU lead was too large to overcome as even another 3-pointer from Gilreath with 10 seconds to go came too late.

Wisconsin outscored the Wildcats 19-13 in the second quarter to lead 30-25 at halftime. Northwestern came out battling in the third quarter, outscoring the Badgers 21-14 in the period to lead by as many as five points (46-41) with 1:39 remaining. Cayla McMorris made a layup and was fouled, completing the three-point play with 46 seconds on the clock, to cut the lead to 46-44 at the end of three.

NU led 49-44 with 8:20 left in the game before a steal by Courtney Fredrickson led to a fast-break layup by Marsha Howard to knot the score at 49 with 7:36 remaining. The two teams traded leads until the Wildcats went on their scoring run.

The Badgers shot a Big Ten-season best 44.9 percent (22-49) from the field, including 50 percent (6-12) from 3-point range while Northwestern shot 49 percent (24-49) from the field. The Wildcats shot 66.7 percent (16-24) from the free-throw line as Wisconsin also shot 66.7 percent, but took nine fewer attempts (10-15).

Three Badgers scored in double figures as Gilreath tied a school record by hitting 5-5 from 3-point range. The sophomore had a team-high 17 points while Howard and McMorris both added 13 points.

Wisconsin recorded a season-low 23 rebounds, including just five rebounds in the second half. Howard led UW with five boards.

UW dished off 15 assists, behind five from freshman Niya Beverley, and turned the ball over only 11 times.
 

Notables

• Sophomore Suzanne Gilreath tied a school record by going 5-of-5 from 3-point range. The 5-4 guard tied a mark set by Alyssa Karel in 2010 and tied by Nicole Bauman in 2015. Gilreath's five 3-pointers also tied her career best.
• The Badgers scored their most points in Big Ten play this season, putting up 60 tallies against the Wildcats. UW also shot a Big Ten-season best 44.9 percent (22-49).
• Junior Roichelle Marble tied her career high with four rebounds.
• Wisconsin recorded a season-low 23 rebounds, pulling down only five boards in the second half.
• Sophomore Courtney Fredrickson tied her career best with four assists. She also tied her season high with two steals.
• Cayla McMorris returned to the Badger starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 10 vs. Savannah State. The 6-0 guard missed three games due to personal reasons and came off the bench the last two games. The senior scored 13 points against the Wildcats to go over 900 points for her career.
• The Badgers dropped their first game of the season when leading at the half. Wisconsin was up 30-25 at the break, falling to 6-1 on the season when leading at halftime.
   

Up Next

Wisconsin returns home on Sunday to host Penn State at 1 p.m. in the Kohl Center. The game will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.