INDIANAPOLIS — As it had done all year, Northwestern found itself in the latter stages of a conference game, in excellent position to steal a victory.
And just as they had failed to do so many times, the Wildcats couldn’t find a way to win.
Iowa guard Kristi Faulkner scored a game-high 27 points while forward Jennie Lillis recorded a double-double as the Hawkeyes came from behind to defeat NU 70-58 on Thursday in the first round of the Big Ten Championships at Conseco Fieldhouse.
It was a tough loss for NU, who led for most of the physical and foul-filled contest.
“To be honest, we didn’t anticipate this result,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “We were confident and we were right with them. The difference is that they have (Faulkner and Lillis), who have been part of a championship team before.”
NU took a 34-28 lead into halftime behind the outstanding play of reserve guard Kristin Ambrose.
Ambrose scored a career-high 22 points to pace the Cats, as she drained 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions at one point in the first half.
“I’ve been watching Ambrose play basketball since she was in the eighth grade,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “And when she’s on, she’s on. She’s a very streaky shooter.”
But Bluder and the rest of the Hawkeyes made the necessary adjustments at halftime, turning around both its offense and defense.
Iowa held Ambrose to just four shots in the second half, as the sophomore only tacked on three more points. As for the rest of the Cats, they didn’t fare much better. NU was held scoreless for a six-minute stretch in the second half while Iowa’s offense took over.
“In the first half, it just seemed to us that Northwestern wanted it more — Ambrose was knocking down 3-pointer after 3-pointer,” Lillis said. “Then in the second half, we showed them that we wanted it.”
As Olkowski saw Iowa’s stars begin to shine, she saw her young players start to fade.
“We were really tight and tentative, and we started to turn the ball over,” Olkowski said. “Then they started scoring, and we got even more tentative. No one seemed to want the ball.”
Iowa, on the other hand, used its second-half possessions wisely, as center Tracy Schrupp scored 16 of her 18 points after the break, while Faulkner knocked in almost every ball she got her hands on.
But what might have sunk the Cats — besides floor leadership in the late stages — was poor rebounding. Iowa out-rebounded the Cats 52-22, as four Hawkeyes had at least eight.
“They just killed us on the boards,” guard Natalie Will said. “Whenever we needed the ball in our hands, it just seemed like we couldn’t get it.”
Playing her last game as a senior, Will scored nine points to go along with a game-high six assists.
For Olkowski, watching Will and the other five seniors lose their last game was heartbreaking, but she promised redemption.
“I felt bad for the seniors — no one knows what it’s like to take that uniform off for the last time,” she said. “But next year, with this group we have, we’ll be a team to reckon with.”
