Before every game, it seems, the Northwestern women’s basketball players dredge up memories of last season’s blowouts, wonder how much they’ve improved in a year and weigh the possibilities of avenging another year-old loss.
Enough of that. Today’s home game against Iowa (9-8, 4-3 Big Ten) is all about the present and measuring growth – if any can be found – this year.
The Hawkeyes visit Welsh-Ryan Arena for the second match between the two teams this season, NU’s first chance at a second crack at a Big Ten opponent.
With their winless run through most of the conference out of the way, the Wildcats (4-13, 0-7 Big Ten) hope that the second time is, in fact, a charm.
“Seeing a team twice, we know what their strengths are, what worked last time we played them,” senior center Tami Sears said.
There wasn’t too much that worked the last time, as the Cats opened the conference season in December with a 95-61 loss in Iowa City.
“We didn’t do a very good job of fronting the post,” Sears said. “This is a big game for the post players to redeem themselves.”
The last time the two teams met, the Hawkeyes overwhelmed the Cats with a balanced attack. All five starters scored in double figures, with forward Leah Magner and guard Lindsey Meder sharing leading-lady accolades with 15 points each.
In that game the Cats tripped out of the gate, digging themselves a 15-2 hole – a symptom of NU’s lack of confidence, displayed in every game since.
“We’ve played them and we weren’t happy with our performance,” said junior guard Ashley Messenger.
“On Thursday we want to start making a turnaround. Now we’re looking to put together 40 minutes, and Iowa gives us a chance to do that.”
Last year the Cats saw the bulk of their conference success come against Iowa. NU defeated the Hawkeyes twice, squeaking by in the first encounter with a one-point victory and then downing Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
The logic is a little fuzzy on how the Cats, who return four starters from last year’s squad, could be so easily dominated by a team they handled only a year earlier.
“I don’t know if ‘surprised’ is the word,” Sears said of Iowa’s showing in the December game. “But I think we were disappointed and frustrated. We go to practice three hours a day, and then it’s frustrating to lose to a team by 30. It just kind of showed us what we were going to face in the Big Ten.”
Entering tonight’s game the Cats have lost seven in a row, a streak that started with the original face-off at Iowa. And the recent scores don’t suggest that Big Ten win No. 1 is in the cards.
In those seven games NU has lost by an average of 33 points.
“People can look at the past performances, and their confidence has been shaken up,” Messenger said. “But you just have to suck it up and go out and play.”
Whatever advantage the Cats are hoping to glean tonight from December’s first-hand scouting report may be negated by the fact that, well, Iowa got a glimpse of NU that day, too.
But at this point in the season, the Cats just want to surpass their previous efforts – not necessarily their opponents.
“A win is always your goal,” Sears said. “But if we lose to a team that plays better than us and deserves the game more than we do, it’s satisfying (if) we can go off saying we played our best effort.”
