Hoping to earn some respect on the home floor of the No. 10 team in the country, the Northwestern women’s basketball team was instead outsized, overmatched and just plain dominated Thursday night.
Penn State ran all over the Wildcats in a 92-54 win at the Bryce Jordan Center, handing NU its second conference defeat in as many games and its sixth-straight road loss.
The Cats had the Lady Lions (11-3, 3-0 Big Ten) within sight throughout the first half. An Emily Butler jumper with 6:39 left in the first half made the score 31-21, and NU (4-8, 0-2) headed to its locker room trailing by only 16 points.
But Penn State stormed out after the break, using a 13-2 run to squash any hopes of a Cats comeback or even a respectable final spread.
Penn State freshman guard Kelly Mazzante single-handedly ran NU’s defense ragged as the Lions picked up their eighth straight win. Mazzante shot 12-for-14 from the field, racking up 29 points in the game.
“Mazzante does a great job because the people around her take the pressure off,” NU coach June Olkowski said.
While Mazzante starred, every player in the Lions’ supporting cast got on the scoreboard as well, including bench player Jessica Brungo, who had a career-high 13 points.
Seniors Lisa Shepherd and Maren Walseth paced the Lions, who forced 22 turnovers, dished out a season-high 26 assists and tied a Bryce Jordan Center record with 10 blocks.
“Shepherd and Walseth give them presence and poise,” Olkowski said. “Penn State is very big and athletic and rebounds the ball very, very well.”
The boards continue to be a problem for the Cats, who were outrebounded 48-31.
“They rebounded at both ends of the floor and their transition game hurt us,” Olkowski said.
The Cats didn’t help themselves by shooting only 25 percent from the field in the second half. In addition, NU’s bench contributed only nine points in 58 minutes of play.
Butler provided the lone offensive boost for the Cats. The sophomore guard tallied 18 points, her ninth double-digit contribution in 12 games this season. As evidence of NU’s shooting woes all night, Butler was the only Cats player to score in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The final score was NU’s lowest offensive output of the season, though it bettered the 49 points the Cats put up in their 65-point loss at Penn State last year. NU had hoped to avenge the drubbing this time around, but now must settle for a performance that at least was a few blushes short of last year’s embarrassment.
Attempting to rebound from the loss, NU returns home Sunday to face Ohio State. The Buckeyes come to Welsh-Ryan Arena with an impressive 10-3 record, but, like the Cats, are still in search of that elusive first conference win.
