The Northwestern women’s basketball team has had an entire week to prepare for Sunday’s game against Illinois, but the Wildcats only needed 10 minutes to get motivated.
Specifically, the first 10 minutes of the NU’s Dec. 30 loss to the Fighting Illini, which the Cats watched on tape earlier this week.
In those 10 minutes, NU turned the ball over 10 times and scored just seven points, while Illinois poured in 17.
The Cats struggled throughout with the Illini’s size in the frontcourt and with their speed in the backcourt. NU, which turned the ball over a staggering 28 times, had problems containing 6-foot-4 center Iveta Marcauskaite. The sophomore scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Illinois point guard Shavonna Hunter helped to shut down the Cats’ offense, grabbing six steals.
Playing the Illini for the second time this season takes the element of surprise out of the game, head coach June Olkowski said.
“At this point, we know their stuff and they know ours,” Olkowski said. “It’s going to come down to who out-executes who.”
Execution was not NU’s strong suit the last time out against the Illini. NU was outstanding from long range, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc, but unimpressive from the field, where they shot only 35 percent.
Defensively, NU was burned in transition, mostly off turnovers.
“We need to put more pressure on the ball,” freshman guard Melissa Culver said. “It’s especially important against (Illinois) because their point guard is very quick and they have huge post players.”
Olkowski expects “relentlessness” from Theresa Grentz’s Illinois team, an assumption based on more than game tape – Olkowski played for Grentz at Rutgers from 1978 to 1982.
To offset Illinois’ stamina, NU took it easy early in the week, watching game tape and resting. The Cats did not have a midweek game scheduled, and their first full practice of the week didn’t take place until Thursday.
“We’ve been going hard since Christmas,” junior forward Natalie Will said. “This week it’s been nice to get (our) legs back.”
NU played especially hard Sunday against No. 5 Wisconsin, losing a heartbreaker when junior Nicole Daniels stole the ball with 27 seconds left and called for a timeout that the Cats, trailing by three, didn’t have. NU was called for a technical foul, ending its chance to upset the Badgers.
Though the 70-65 loss was frustrating, it was also promising for the Cats.
“(Wisconsin) was a huge confidence booster for us,” Will said. “Not only because we almost beat them, but because we played really well. We were clicking and there was a lot of trust, which is key in being able to play as a team.”
Junior Leslie Dolland, who added 12 points, regained her starting position after scoring 19 points off the bench against Iowa on Jan. 10. Dolland has emerged as a leader in the last two weeks, filling the role vacated when junior guard Emily Butler was sidelined with knee problems in mid-November.
“Leslie Dolland has done very well picking up the lead,” Olkowski said. “If she’s vocal on and off the floor, I think we’ll be ready.”
Olkowski plans to start Culver, Dolland, Will and freshmen Sarah Kwasinski and Samantha McComb. Sophomore Michelle Zylstra was out of practice early in the week with a sprained ankle, but Olkowski was hopeful she would be practicing by Friday.
