It was far from flawless and nowhere near perfection.
But when the Northwestern women’s basketball team was finished with its first 40 minutes of play this season, it had notched its first win since Dec. 18, 2001.
The Wildcats played poorly at times but managed to beat the Dominican Republic National Team 56-46 in Tuesday’s exhibition at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“I thought we’d be a lot sharper than we were,” NU head coach June Olkowski said. “I saw a lot of nervousness out there tonight.”
The Cats stumbled out of the gate, scoring just nine points in the first 13:31 of play. With 7:10 to go in the first half, the Dominican Republic led NU 10-9.
But NU sophomore guard Melissa Culver made a three-pointer on the Cats’ next possession, and they took the lead for good.
“We missed some open shots in the beginning,” Olkowski said. “But we still defended well.”
NU played without center Sarah Kwasinski, who led the Cats in points and rebounds last year. The sophomore was rested because of shin splints.
Kwasinski was one of four Cats out of the lineup on Tuesday.
“We were definitely not at 100 percent for this game,” Culver said. “But overall, I thought we played pretty well.”
Culver led all scorers with 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including 2 for 4 from three-point range. She also contributed three assists.
The Cats finished with 15 assists as a team, but 21 turnovers washed out that stat against an underwhelming Dominican Republic team.
“One thing that we did a bad job with was turnovers,” Culver said. “We really need to do a better job taking care of the ball.”
But the Dominican Republic never capitalized on NU’s lackluster ball possession, committing 28 turnovers of its own and shooting only 54 percent from the free-throw line.
NU, on the other hand, shot 83 percent from the charity stripe.
But there were other things the Cats didn’t do so well.
Even though it played poorly, the Dominican Republic still outshot and outrebounded NU.
“There are so many things we have to work on,” Olkowski said. “I don’t think I can pick just one.”
The Cats did have their bright spots, however, with two players making successful debuts.
Redshirt sophomore Kristin Ambrose, a transfer from Virginia, started the game and finished with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
“I was fairly pleased with how I played,” Ambrose said. “We still have a long way to go to get to where we want to be. Obviously, we weren’t expecting to be our best today.”
Olkowski praised Ambrose’s play in her first game.
“I’m excited with her performance,” Olkowski said. “She’s nowhere near where we’re expecting her to be by the end of the season. She just needs to get the jitters out.”
Also making her debut was freshman Ifeoma Okonkwo, who came off the bench and scored four points in eight minutes.
The Cats also welcomed back senior point guard Emily Butler, who sat out all but four games last year with torn cartilage in her right knee.
Butler, who wore a knee brace, finished with six points.
“Emily played very well,” Olkowski said. “I asked her to play a step off from what she normally plays, and I was pleased with what she contributed.”
Although NU’s performance was far from dominating, the Cats know the most important statistic Tuesday night was the final score.
“We definitely did some things well tonight, and we won,” Culver said. “We think of this game as a big positive for us.”
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Theresa Kwok/The Daily Northwestern
NU guard Emily Butler takes a shot in Tuesday’s 56-46 win over the Dominican Republic National Team. She played only four games last year because of torn cartilage in her knee.
