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TEMPE, Ariz. - Northwestern raced out to a 14-2 lead in the first five minutes and never looked back on Saturday afternoon as they beat Eastern Illinois, 92-44, at the Arizona State Holiday Tournament.
EIU dropped to 3-8 on the year and will play Lehigh on Sunday at 1 pm. Â Northwestern improved to 10-0.
Maggie Lyon and Ashley Deary got the Wildcats rolling early with a pair of 3-pointers during the opening 14-2 run.  Deary added a lay-up and two steals in the first five minutes as she was one of four Northwestern players in double figures finishing with 12 points.
Arnisha Thomas scored the first basket for EIU as she scored eight of the Panthers first ten points finishing with a team-high 14 to go with eight rebounds.?
The Wildcats limited EIU to just 29 percent shooting in the opening half while forcing 17 turnovers. Â Those 17 turnovers were converted into 21 points as Northwestern led 48-17 at the half.
EIU did not help itself to open the second half turning the ball over five straight times as the Wildcats led by 46 points on a lay-up by Deary.Â
Bh'rea Griffin ended the the second half run by the Wildcats with a 3-pointer with 15:04 to play followed by a Thomas lay-up.  The Panthers were 2-of-4 from 3-point range in the second half.Â
EIU head coach
Debbie Black turned to her bench to close out the game finishing with five freshmen on the floor. Â
Grace Lennox had two steals leading to a pair of lay-ups as she had six points in the final minutes. Â
Northwestern finished the game with 39 points off turnovers while shooting 49 percent from the field. Â Nia Coffey led all players with 15 points. Â Christen Inman and Lauren Douglas each had 14.
EIU was able to hold its own on the glass against a bigger Northwestern team as the Wildcats had a 40-38 rebound advantage. Â Thomas had eight rebounds while
Sabina Oroszova finished with seven.