Northwestern Wins 2024 Big Ten Women's Lacrosse Tournament

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Northwestern Wildcats scored their fourth Big Ten Women’s Lacrosse championship on Saturday night, topping Penn State 14-12 in a game that started at Northwestern's Lanny and Sharon Martin Stadium and finished inside Ryan Fieldhouse.

The Wildcats have now won four of the last five tournament titles, as this trophy joins those from 2019, 2021, and 2023.

The tournament’s top seed and number one ranked team in the country extended its win streak to seven games, improving to 15-2 on the season. With the win, the Wildcats also earn the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament.

Northwestern was led by graduate student Izzy Scane, who paired five goals and an assist in today’s win and finished the tournament with nine total points to earn Most Valuable Player honors. Scane also recorded her 358th career goal, tying Charlotte North for the most goals in NCAA history.

The Nittany Lions built a 4-1 first quarter lead before the Wildcats mounted their comeback. Northwestern outscored the visitors 11-1 over the next 25 minutes to build a 12-5 lead with just under six minutes to play in the third quarter.

The Nittany Lions responded with four of the next five goals to pull within 13-10 with 5:39 to play. Scane’s record-tying marker temporarily slowed the Penn State run, re-establishing a four-goal cushion with less than five minutes to play.

With 1:36 to play, the was stopped due to inclement weather. After several rounds of lightning, the game was moved inside Ryan Fieldhouse to finish the final 96 seconds. The delay and change of venue seemed to refresh the Nittany Lions, who netted a pair of goals in a span of 25 seconds to pull Penn State to within 14-12.

Penn State looked to pull even closer in the game’s final seconds, but Northwestern goaltender Molly Laliberty recorded the final of her 10 saves with 10 seconds to play.

Dylan Amonte and Madison Taylor tallied four points each, combining for five Northwestern goals, while Taylor added eight draw controls. Jane Hansen anchored the defense with five caused turnovers and four ground balls.

Gretchen Gilmore led the Nittany Lions with five goals and an assist, while goaltender Sydney Manning notched eight saves in the loss.

Northwestern hopes to see its name on the top line when the NCAA Tournament bracket is announced on Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

2024 Big Ten Women’s Lacrosse All-Tournament Team

MVP: Izzy Scane, Gr., Northwestern

Ava Angello, So., JHU

Jordan Carr, Sr., JHU

Erin Coykendall, Gr., NU

Kendall Halpern, Sr., NU

Jane Hansen, Gr., NU

Izzy Scane, Gr., NU

Madison Taylor, So., NU

Kayla Abernathy, Sr., PSU

Gretchen Gilmore, Sr., PSU

Ellie Hollin, Jr., PSU

Kristin O'Neill, Sr., PSU

Sophia Cardello, Sr., RUT

Cassidy Spilis, Gr., RUT