Sophomore guard Meshia Reed scored 18 points as Northwestern used a 10-2 run at the beginning of the second half to easily defeat Western Illinois 71-54 in the DoubleTree White Invitational at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.

Reed recovered from her poor performance against Arkansas in the Wildcats’ last game. Reed scored only three points and had seven turnovers in her last outing. The sophomore scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half and shot seven of 10 from the field.

She had help from sophomore center Amy Jaeschke, who added 16 points and eight boards, and junior guard Kristin Cartwright, who scored 14 and six boards.

NU (2-3) dominated defensively in the second half, holding Western Illinois to just 29.6 percent shooting. The Cats shot 62.5 percent as they outscored the Westerwinds 39-26 to gain some breathing room.

The Cats will play Missouri in the championship game of the DoubleTree White Inviational on Sunday.