It’s not a glamorous job, but it’s crucial.
Key to the Northwestern women’s basketball team’s offense this season has been its bench. In the Wildcats’ 17 games, their bench has outscored its opponent’s 11 times.
But NU’s bench might meet its match in tonight’s contest at Michigan — the Wolverines’ bench usually outscores its opponent’s.
“Coming off the bench is good because you get the chance to watch the game develop and get into the flow,” NU forward Suzanne Morrison said.
Several Cats subs have made big contributions this season. Sophomore guard Kristin Ambrose has come off the pine 10 of 15 games this season and is averaging 6.1 points and 2.9 rebounds a game. Junior forward Michelle Zylstra has 4.7 points per contest in her 11 games — all off the bench.
Morrison, who’s racking up 3.3 points and 2.3 boards a game, said it’s not always easy to play well coming off the sideline.
“It can be tough to come off the bench and get a couple of runs off the floor instantly,” she said.
But tallying points early might be exactly what the Cats need to do to get the flow of the game going their way. Michigan’s adrenaline will be running high after defeating Indiana on Sunday to pick up its first conference win.
Also unsettling for NU might be Michigan’s average of 70.9 points per game. The Cats score only 55.2 points per game, led by sophomore Sarah Kwasinski’s 13.5.
“(Michigan is) going to look to take (Kwasinski) out of the game,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “Even though she’s not a powerful post player, she has a soft touch.”
Kwasinski will have her hands full tonight as she battles with Michigan’s Jennifer Smith, a player similar to the NU star in many ways.
Both Kwasinski and Smith play at center, stand at 6-foot-4 and have been their team’s leading scorer for at least part of the season. The duo were both members of the National Honor Society in high school, as well.
But whereas the Cats’ starting center has been free of major injuries, Smith sat on the sidelines for five games with a bum knee. Since Jan. 4, Smith has been back in the starting lineup and averaging 11.3 points and eight rebounds.
Although Smith is gradually regaining strength, the Cats are hoping that she won’t be playing as well as she did at the beginning of the season. Smith averaged 20.3 points during the Wolverines’ first three games,
To counter the threat of Smith, the Cats feel they need to turn on their offensive heat, particularly in the paint.
“When we don’t score from the inside, we usually lose badly,” Morrison said. “So we want to move the ball in-and-out and get looks both ways.”
The Cats also say they need to avoid forced-shot situations when the shot clock is expiring.
“Word around the conference is that we’re susceptible to pressure,” Morrison said. “We’re trying to be better prepared for that.”
On the defensive end, NU has every intention of repeating their performance during the first half of its loss to Ohio State on Sunday. This time, the team hopes to maintain the intensity for the entire game.
“We played well the first half of the game, (and) then their shooters hit the open jumpers,” Olkowski said. “But we’ve been doing a better job in practice the past few days.”
Whether they are in the starting lineup or they relieve a starter later in the game, the Cats agree that a win at the end of the night is what’s most important.
“I feel my role has been the same no matter how many minutes I’ve played,” senior forward Natalie Will said. “However I can contribute is fine with me.”
NU (6-11, 1-5 Big Ten) at Michigan (10-5, 1-3)
6 p.m. today
Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Player to watch: Michigan center Jennifer Smith is back in the lineup after a knee injury.
