Immediately after the men’s 69-61 basketball victory over No. 14 Iowa on Saturday, a small contingent of women sitting behind the bench passed by the victorious players, expressed a few quiet congratulations and walked away as fans stormed the court in celebration.
“We wanted to make sure they knew we were there,” Leslie Dolland said. “We were super-excited. They’ve struggled this year, and we’ve seen them get so close.”
Dolland and the other members of the Northwestern women’s team are some of the men’s team’s biggest supporters – a fact that stems not only from the two clubs’ similar schedules and practice proximity, but also from a shared experience of futility.
“We know what they’re going through, when they’re going through it,” NU forward Tavaras Hardy said. “I know for some of us it’s important to keep each other’s spirits up.”
A streak of 32 consecutive regular-season conference losses is enough to elicit sympathy from even the most casual college hoops fan. But nobody feels for the NU men’s team like its female counterpart.
In the shadow of the men’s massive skid, NU’s women have been quietly amassing a record-book blemish of their own.
With Sunday’s loss to No. 20 Wisconsin, the women have now fallen in 13 consecutive games this season, surpassing the team record of 10-straight defeats set last year. Put the two streaks together and the Cats have lost 23 regular-season conference contests in a row dating back to Jan. 23, 2000.
“We have a lot of the same frustrations, as far as wanting to win,” Dolland said. “But it’s encouraging because they all worked really hard, and I think that shows in our team as well. I know that it’s got to feel really good to them.”
Last year the women won three conference games, which saved NU from the distinction of becoming the first Big Ten school with winless conference seasons on both the men’s and women’s sides.
This season the burden fell on the men, although the women have three more opportunities to snap their streak.
“They know they can do it,” center Aaron Jennings said. “They work hard in practice every day, just like we do. And sometime during the game, things are going to start going your way instead of the other team’s way, and they’re going to get the win.”
If that happens in either of the two remaining home games for the women, Hardy, Jennings and Co. will likely be there to return a few quiet congratulations.
NICKED UP: After Nicole Daniels sustained a stress fracture in her left foot in December, the Cats had hoped that the versatile guard/forward would be back on the floor in time for the end of the conference season and for the Big Ten tournament.
But Daniels, who started 10 of the first 11 games this season, has healed more slowly than expected and will now be sidelined for the rest of the season.
“It hurts,” Dolland said. “Obviously you’d like to have as many players as possible. But at the same time she’s doing what she needs to do to fully recover for next year. We’re looking at the larger picture.”
Daniels, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, averaged 20 minutes and 7.3 points per game in the first six weeks, helping to fill in for forward Tami Sears and point guard Dana Leonard, who both started the season injured.
The Cats have lost all 12 of their games since Daniels’ injury.
“It’s difficult to be watching a team struggle (when) you can’t do anything physically to help them,” said Daniels, who was forced to sit idly by as her team was routed by 65 points in one loss and edged by only three in another.
The Cats’ 65-62 loss to No. 16 Penn State last weekend was both the most difficult and most exciting for Daniels to watch.
“That was the happiest, but I had mixed emotions,” she said. “I was so happy for them and so proud that they played as well as they did. But part of me just wanted to be there so bad because we came so close.”
