The Northwestern women’s basketball team played a solid 40 minutes on Sunday for the first time this season. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the result was not a first – it was yet another Big Ten loss, this time to Michigan.
The Cats (4-18, 0-11 Big Ten) bounced back from Thursday’s 30-point loss to Penn State to play one of their most competitive games of the conference season, losing to the Wolverines (14-8, 4-7) 74-67 in front of 2,113 fans at Crisler Arena.
“Overall, I felt this was the first time we’ve played a good, solid 40 minutes,” freshman point guard Melissa Culver said. “It was a physical game, and I thought we played tough.”
Culver led the charge, turning the ball over only four times and successfully maneuvering through the Wolverines’ aggressive full-court press.
“Mo did a great job,” NU head coach June Olkowski said. “She used a great change of speed.”
Culver was also a major contributor to NU’s point total – she was 4-for-6 from three-point range and finished with 14 points.
“I had a lot more confidence for some reason this game,” Culver said. “A lot of that was because we had two really great practices this week, and we felt good in the offense.”
Freshman center Sarah Kwasinski was a force inside, playing in a physical matchup against Michigan’s LeeAnn Bies. Kwasinski outmanned Bies in the post, scoring 24 points and grabbing eight rebounds to Bies’ 16 points and six boards.
“They’re definitely a very physical team,” Kwasinski said. “What really helped me was that there was a lot of one-on-ones. (Michigan) doubled down – but from the other post – so we had to work together a lot inside.”
The contest was close throughout the first half, with the Cats trailing by five heading into the locker room. Both teams shot below 35 percent from the field and struggled with turnovers. Michigan and NU are ranked 10th and 11th in the conference, respectively, in giving the ball away.
NU came out strong at the beginning of the second half, cutting the deficit to two points off a Kwasinski turnaround jumper with fifteen minutes left in the game.
But then the physical nature of the post game began to hurt the Cats. Kwasinski picked up her third foul, and both she and junior center Leslie Dolland had to take a seat on the bench. Michigan promptly went on a 10-2 run, increasing the Wolverines’ lead to eight with 11 minutes to go.
Kwasinski came back into the game quickly and avoided fouling out.
“I didn’t even realize I was (in foul trouble) until I had four,” Kwasinski said. “I had to play it safe – not try to block so many shots. But Coach kept me out there.”
However, the Cats never fully recovered from Michigan’s run. NU was unable to capitalize on several key possessions, and couldn’t keep the Wolverines – namely forward Jennifer Smith – off the offensive glass in the closing minutes.
While the Cats struggled on offensive boards at the end of the game, rebounding was their greatest strength through most of the contest. They outrebounded the Wolverines 39-36.
NU trimmed the lead to six with 2:40 to go but never came within striking distance in the final minutes. After the two-minute mark, the Cats tried to implement a full-court press to regain possession but were forced to foul until the clock ran out.
NU’s post players failed to draw fouls inside, despite combining for 36 points. The Cats only made it to the line five times but were outstanding when they got there, making 9 of 10 free throws.
Sunday’s loss marks only the second time this conference season NU has been within 10 points at the buzzer. The improved performance gave the Cats confidence they can beat Michigan when the two teams meet again on Feb. 21 on NU’s home court.
“They are definitely beatable,” Kwasinski said, looking forward to what would be the Cats’ first Big Ten victory in over two years. “And next time we’ll be playing them at home. I think when we play them on our own turf, we’ll come out with a win.”
