GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Northwestern has had plenty of trouble staying close in Big Ten games this season, losing all 16 regular-season contests by an average of 25.4 points.
So with the Wildcats leading 17-15 almost nine minutes into Thursday night’s first-round game against Illinois in the Big Ten tournament, there was reason to believe they were reversing their yearlong trend.
But the Cats’ high hopes for ending their 2001 miseries crashed back to earth with 11:04 left in the first half. NU forward Michelle Zylstra hacked Illinois forward Cindy Dallas, sending her to the free throw line.
Dallas nailed both free throws and sparked a 10-0 Fighting Illini run that gave them the lead for good. But just as importantly, the Zylstra foul put Illinois in the bonus for more than 11 minutes.
The Illini (15-14, 9-7 Big Ten) sank eight of their 13 first-half attempts from the foul line and 20 of 29 overall on the way to a 75-60 win.
“Anytime you get into the bonus quickly, it’s a big advantage,” said Illinois junior Allison Curtin, who expressed displeasure with her team’s inability to capitalize further on free throw opportunities. “We did (find) a way to get to the line.”
And again in the second half, when the Cats (4-23, 0-16) were keeping the game close, foul trouble allowed Illinois to go to the line in the closing minutes for the decisive points. Atrocious shooting on offense didn’t help NU, but the fouls on defense may have buried the team.
“Picking up early fouls,” NU forward Tami Sears said, “it puts you on your heels for the rest of the game.”
TOTAL RECALL: With their terrible season finally in the rearview mirror, the Cats now face the unenviable task of trying to move on from the hardships of the last four months. But NU point guard Emily Butler, who scored a game-high 22 points, said this year isn’t one she’d like to erase from her memory.
“It’s important to remember how this feels,” she said. “All of us need to become better basketball players. Period.”
NU will do its best to focus on next season as well the future, but players admit it may not be a speedy process.
“It’s difficult to be a winner and to build a program the right way,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “We will build this program the right way.”
OPENING ACTS: The Cats played in Thursday’s third game on a day that featured only the conference’s bottom six seeds.
In one of the more even matchups of the tournament, Ohio State edged Michigan State 52-48 despite shooting just 32 percent from the field. The Buckeyes will face Purdue, the Big Ten’s top seed and the No. 8 team in the country, in the quarterfinals today.
Ohio State overcame a 24-18 halftime deficit and led for the final five minutes of the game.
In the other game played on Thursday, Indiana (19-9, 9-7) steamrolled a hapless Minnesota squad that beat only NU in the Big Ten this year. Indiana left few opportunities for the Golden Gophers (8-20, 1-15), jumping out to a 10-point lead in the first 11 minutes of the game and winning 78-56. Indiana will face No. 2 seed Iowa today to try and advance to the semifinals.
“We did a very good job from a team standpoint, defending the ball extremely well,” Indiana coach Kathi Bennett said. “We had nothing to lose and could play fearlessly – there is so much to play for.”
