After giving away a five-point fourth quarter lead against Charleston the day before, Northwestern was locked in another close battle in the third-place game in the Hawk Classic. This time, though, the Wildcats (7-5, 0-1 B1G) were able to survive a second-half charge from Howard (6-8, 0-0 MEAC) and hold on for a 68-66 win.
The biggest reason why was Midrange Mel. Mel Daley was scorching hot in this one, scoring 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including the last three Wildcat field goals. Northwestern had three other players in double digits on Saturday, with Grace Sullivan at 16 points, Casey Harter at 11 and Caleigh Walsh at 11. Taylor Williams also had 11 rebounds in the effort, but fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
For Howard, Saniyah King and Destiny Howell led the way with 13 and 14 points, respectively. Nile Miller had nine points and eight rebounds, and the Bison as a team tallied 40 boards…