Following a series of 40-point losses, more than a few embarrassing performances and a record-setting winless drought, the bubble is about to burst on the Northwestern women’s basketball season.
“I think we’re ready for a win, and this whole season will be worth it to beat Illinois because they’re our in-state rival,” NU guard Ashley Messenger said. “There’s been stuff about us in the state of Illinois that we’re not as good as other teams, and we’re ready to prove that we are.”
“Ready” might qualify as the understatement of the year as the Wildcats head to Illinois (11-11, 6-4 Big Ten) tonight.
On Sunday the Cats (4-17, 0-11) lost their 11th consecutive game, a new team record. And that loss came in heartbreaking fashion: NU was prepared to upset No. 16 Penn State until a few turnovers and missed shots in the last minute allowed the the Lady Lions to escape Evanston with a win.
But to the Cats’ credit, they have been inching closer to a win throughout this 0-11 conference season. And Sunday’s close call suggests that Big Ten win No. 1 may actually loom on the horizon.
The loss to Penn State left the Cats with a mixture of disappointment and hope, and it taught them that they’re capable of competing in the Big Ten.
“It’s just physical proof,” center Leslie Dolland said. “We’ve always said it, but we haven’t really gone out and done it too much this year. It’s nice to say it, but once you can see it, I think it means more.”
For coach June Olkowski, Sunday’s game represents less a sign that victory is imminent than a challenge to play consistently.
NU nearly defeated Ohio State in early January, but watched what was at one point a double-digit lead unravel. And last week the Cats came out to play on the road against Michigan, cutting in half their average margin of defeat this season.
But the bright spots were few and far between in the span that separated those two games, and the Michigan performance was promptly followed by a 70-35 rout at Wisconsin.
“Can we put together two physical, mental, emotional games back-to-back?” Olkowski asked. “We haven’t done that. We’ve done it once, and then played twice and faltered, and then came back and played a good game and then faltered the next two games. ? What I tell the kids is, ‘I know you can do it, now can you do it all the time?'”
If the Cats are to put together consecutive breakout performances, they must take more than a few baby steps since the last time they met Illinois.
The Fighting Illini came to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Jan. 9 and downed the Cats 88-65, prompting a simple postgame statement from Olkowski: “We have to become better basketball players.”
In addition to an extra month of experience, NU has two factors on its side tonight.
The Illini have fared considerably better on the road than they have home, negating any home-court advantage. A win over Minnesota on Sunday was just the team’s third home victory, compared with a 6-3 mark away from the orange faithful.
Illinois will also be playing without forward Aminata Yanni, who scored 15 points off the bench against NU in January. Yanni sustained a season-ending ligament tear in her knee last week.
Even without the standout freshman, the Illini had a record-setting 101-71 win Sunday. The 101 points were the most Illinois has scored at home against a Big Ten opponent.
But that feat has little meaning for the Cats going into Champaign.
“I don’t think you can really feel intimidated at this point,” Dolland said. “We’ve had some pretty horrendous games this year, and I don’t think there’s anything we haven’t seen before.”
The momentum battle for a little in-state respect rests on whether the Cats can take advantage of Sunday’s performance – or if the inconsistency they’ve exhibited all season prevails.
“We’ve done nothing yet to earn respect,” Olkowski said. “I don’t think Illinois thinks we’re a rival. Eventually – hopefully – we will earn their respect enough to know that Northwestern is in the state of Illinois.”
