Northwestern University’s two freshman starters assisted the Wildcats in their first Big Ten/ACC Challenge win in five tries, beating the North Carolina State University Wolfpack 76-59.

Morgan Jones and Karly Roser earned double doubles on Nov. 30, which helped the Wildcats overcome 29 turnovers and a late push by the Wolfpack.

Down 13 points entering the second half, the Wolfpack held the Wildcats scoreless for nearly the first four minutes, and eventually went on a 12-0 run to bring the game within three points, with 10 minutes left in the game.

“It was a sloppy, hard-fought, physical game, and I was proud of the way we handled some of that when the score got close,” said NU Head Coach Joe McKeown.

According to Roser, freshman point guard for the Wildcats, the team was upset with its defensive efforts, and responded well to the North Carolina State run.

“We stepped up and pulled through, and then we went on our own little run,” Roser said of the Wildcats’ late second-half run.

The run was fueled by three three-pointers hit by Jones late in the second half. She was 5 of 6 from behind the arc in the game and had a career high of 27 points. She also had a career high of 11 rebounds.

Jones struggled during the Wildcats’ first five games leading up to the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, making only 29 percent of her attempted shots from the field.

“Personally, I’ve been struggling with my shot,” Jones said, following her personal best performance. “It was a just a matter of continuing to play. It will [eventually] fall.”

Roser, who entered the game fifth in the nation in assists per game, dished out 10, which was more than the entire Wolfpack team combined. She also had 10 points and a few easy drives to the basket for layups.

“I think they were just kind of confused with all the screens we were trying to run, and their defense fell through,” Roser said. “I had an open lane, so I took it.”

The Wildcats’ bench players contributed in a big way when, 12 minutes into the game, the Wildcats lost their captain, senior Brittany Orban, to a right leg injury. After driving to the basket, she was fouled as she missed a layup and landed awkwardly on her leg.

“I thought our bench tonight really stepped up,” McKeown said. “Even though we had some turnovers, [the bench] gave us a lot of good minutes.”

McKeown said the captain should be fine but is not sure about her availability for the team’s upcoming road match-up against the Missouri University Tigers on Dec. 3.

Despite stepping up for its missing teammate, McKeown said the team needs to clean up a few of its mistakes, such as cutting down on turnovers committed and allowing its opponent to grab a large number of offensive rebounds.

“We didn’t keep [the Wolfpack] off the offensive glass, and that was our big statement [on Nov. 29] in practice and [on Nov. 30] before the game,” McKeown said.

The Wildcats are now 5-1. Their only loss was to Chicago rival, No. 20 DePaul University’s Blue Demons, on Nov. 27.

“We just wanted to come out [against the Wolfpack] and prove that loss [against the Blue Demons] could have been a win,” Roser said.