EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) – The Northwestern women’s basketball team honored Jordan Hankins by wearing her name and number during warmups and then, in a gym filled with the school’s athletes, won in its first game since her death.
The Wildcats beat Indiana 80-67 Saturday less than a week after the sophomore guard committed suicide.
The body of the 19-year-old from Indianapolis was found in her dorm room on Monday. Because of the tragedy, Northwestern’s game at Minnesota on Wednesday was postponed.
A block of roughly 300 of Northwestern’s 472 total athletes – including the men’s basketball team in their jerseys – clustered in the west end of the 8,117-seat Welsh-Ryan and stood for much of the game.
After the victory, the team huddled at center court with players wrapping their arms over each other’s shoulders while the band played the alma mater. The crowd followed with a restrained cheer.