Undersized and overpressed, the Northwestern women’s basketball team dropped its seventh Big Ten game Sunday to Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena in front of a crowd of 893.
The 87-73 loss kept the Wildcats (4-14, 0-7) at the bottom of the conference standings and moved the unranked Fighting Illini within striking distance of first place.
The opening half was a sloppy affair, with both teams struggling against the other’s full-court press. NU committed 14 turnovers in the half – freshman point guard Melissa Culver had eight – and the Illini had 12.
But Illinois dominated the second half with aggressive defense and a more consistent offense.
“The difference in the second half was running the offense,” Illinois head coach Theresa Grentz said. “Once we did what we were supposed to do, we were much better off.”
On the game’s opening possession, NU freshman center Sarah Kwasinski missed two short shots before converting a third attempt and drawing a foul.
Kwasinski was half of Sunday’s marquee matchup, facing Illinois sophomore Iveta Marcauskaite. Despite Kwasinski’s 21 points and NU single-game record seven blocks, the Cats were outscored in the paint 54-34. Marcauskaite finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cats might have scored more points down low, except that they struggled to keep possession of the ball after the opening play – in the next 10 minutes they turned the ball over to the Illini press nine times.
After Kwasinski’s opening shot, NU lost the lead until a three-pointer from freshman Samantha McComb made the score 22-20 with 8:35 to go in the first half.
After McComb’s three-pointer, NU started beating the press, and the teams traded baskets for the next five minutes. But a 10-0 Illinois run brought the game to 43-32 with 1:05 to go in the half.
NU’s Natalie Will knocked down two free throws to break the Illini run, and Kwasinski made both freebies when the 6-foot-4 center Marcauskaite was given a technical foul for throwing the ball away from the officials. Kwasinski then made an eight-foot jumper off an assist from Culver to cut the Illini lead to five heading into the locker room.
The Cats had more trouble with the Illini press in the second half, struggling again to get the ball across half court. The Illini, on the other hand, got their offense under control, committing only six turnovers in the period.
NU kept the game close until the 13-minute mark, when Illinois led 51-49. But the Illini ran off 15 unanswered points over a stretch of nearly five minutes to increase their lead to 66-49.
The Cats didn’t threaten again, although junior Leslie Dolland went on her own late-game run, scoring eight points in just over two minutes.
Dolland has emerged as a major force for the Cats in the last two weeks, both on the court – she scored 14 points in Sunday’s game – and off.
“Obviously she’s scoring and defending and rebounding,” Olkowski said of Dolland. “But the thing that makes a difference in our play is the leadership she’s showing now.”
But Dolland’s strong play, coupled with Kwasinski’s presence down low, wasn’t enough.
The quickness and suffocating defense of Illinois point guard Shavonna Hunter frustrated Culver, who committed four more turnovers and scored only five points in the second half.
“I don’t have another point guard,” head coach June Olkowski said. “What I literally told her was to keep her head up. Other people on the floor … need to alleviate pressure.”
As for containing Hunter, who had 14 points and seven assists, Olkowski said NU was at a loss because of the size of Illinois shooting guard Aminata Yanni and small forward Dawn Vana.
The Illinois guard is 6-foot-1, and Vana is 6-foot-2; Samantha McComb, the Cats’ starting shooting guard, is 5-foot-8, and forward Natalie Will is 5-foot-9.
“We don’t have a player who can guard Shavonna Hunter straight up without any help,” Olkowski said. “The harder matchup was because of the the size of Yanni and Vana.”
