The Northwestern women’s basketball team’s main problem in Tuesday night’s 60-54 exhibition loss was a lack of patience. And if it’s true that patience comes with age, then NU was in big trouble against RTU Klondaika.
The Wildcats gained an early lead over the older — in some cases, 19 years older — Latvian club team, which has players that range in age from 16 to 37. RTU Klondaika has lost exhibition games to Purdue (96-66), Michigan (89-75) and Michigan State (88-51) this month.
“It was an experience,” freshman Suzanne Morrison said about playing against 37-year-old Anete Brice, who played 35 minutes in the game. “She could be my mom. She moved pretty good for pushing 40.”
The entire RTU Klondaika team moved well, particularly in transition, outscoring the Cats 16-2 on the fast break.
“We didn’t have that reaction time from made shot to defense,” junior forward Natalie Will said. “They killed us in transition.”
The Cats were rushed and impatient on offense, shooting only 32 percent (20 of 62) from the field and committing 25 turnovers, 16 in the second half alone. Junior point guard Emily Butler had six turnovers as NU was unable to penetrate the Latvian team’s zone defense, a setup the Cats hadn’t yet faced this season.
No NU player scored in double digits, despite the team’s 62 shot attempts. Junior Leslie Dolland, sophomore Michelle Zylstra and Butler tied for a team-high eight points apiece.
“If you had told me this team would shoot (32 percent) from the floor, I’d say ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,'” head coach June Olkowski said. “We’re a much better offensive team than this.”
Morrison and fellow freshman Maria McCarthy started in the post for the Cats, and the young players were dominated by Zane Teilane, RTU Klondaika’s 6-foot-6 center, who had 18 rebounds, 14 points and three blocked shots.
Olkowski said her young post players failed to adapt properly in the second half.
“We made adjustments (in the locker room at halftime) that were not adjusted on the floor,” the coach said.
The Cats led 30-19 with 6:47 left in the first half and were down just one point at the break. The lead went back-and-forth throughout the second half.
“We got too comfortable with our lead in the first half,” Morrison said. “We stopped being aggressive.”
Sophomore forward Michelle Zylstra hit a three-pointer to tie the game with only 2:35 left. But NU proceeded to give up an easy layup and commit three quick fouls. Because RTU Klondaika was in the bonus, the fouls resulted in four made free throws in six attempts, giving the Latvian team a lead it never relinquished.
The Cats played poor defense, an area that the team voiced concern about after the first exhibition game of the year, in which NU defeated the Chicago Challengers.
“When you can’t hit on offense, you have to back it up on ‘D,'” Will said.
The Cats were unable to produce on either end, and the result was sloppy basketball and a disappointing loss.
The highlight for NU was the play of senior guard Ashley Messenger, who played the entire second half and showed hustle with three steals, six boards and seven points.
“Ashley was consistent on both ends,” Olkowski said. “She was the most consistent player we had tonight.”
The Cats open their regular season against Northern Illinois on Sunday.
