The Wildcats slowed down the game, but they couldn’t stop the Golden Gophers.
Forcing Minnesota to play at a more plodding, Northwestern-like pace rather than at its usual high-tempo game, the NU women’s basketball team held the No. 15 Gophers 17 points below their 84.2 points per game average.
Unfortunately for the Cats, the Gophers limited them to even fewer points in their 67-56 win Sunday in front of 8,419 at Williams Arena.
“I think it says a lot about our team today that we held this team to only 67 points,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “And lot of that was because we fouled at the end.”
Some Cats players said they had a second opponent to deal with — the officials.
The fouls seemed to pile up for the Cats (6-15, 1-9 Big Ten) all afternoon, as they were called for a total of 18 to the Gophers’ (16-3, 5-3) eight.
“When you’re on the road against a top-20 team like that, you’re not going to expect a lot of respect,” NU forward Michelle Zylstra said.
For NU to have a chance at a win, it knew it had to distribute the scoring and hold the Gophers — and last season’s Big Ten Player of the Year Lindsay Whalen — in check.
The Cats held Whalen to a modest 18 points, but that didn’t keep senior guard Corrin von Wald from having a spectacular game.
Usually hidden in Whalen’s shadow, von Wald exploded for 25 points on 9-for-16 shooting to lead all scorers.
Zylstra admitted that the Cats had kept an eye out for Whalen but were impressed by von Wald’s play.
“At the beginning, we didn’t really change anything for Whalen; we just looked for her to penetrate,” Zylstra said. “But von Wald was great and she had a strong first half for them.”
On offense, NU distributed the scoring well, as Zylstra led the way with 11 points while guard Samantha McComb added 10 and Kristin Ambrose put in nine.
For Ambrose, who scored all of her points in the first half, it was a successful homecoming.
“She didn’t force as much and got some good looks today, ” Olkowski said. “That’s why I recruited her — because she can score.”
One glaring omission from the usual list of leading scorers for NU was sophomore center Sarah Kwasinski.
Kwasinski tied a career low with only four points on 1 of 5 shooting. Olkowski attributed Kwasinski’s troubles to heavy foul trouble that plagued her for most of the game. She fouled out for the second time this season.
