Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse for the Northwestern women’s basketball team, No. 22 Ohio State (10-4, 2-1) rolled into town.
The Wildcats (7-7, 0-3) suffered their third consecutive Big Ten blowout Sunday. The 77-35 drumming at Welsh-Ryan Arena was the worst for NU since Jan. 18, 2001 when the Cats fell 83-41 to Michigan.
While Ohio State showed off on offense, the Cats struggled without their point guard Samantha McComb. Only Ifeoma Okonkwo, who notched 10 points, reached double figures for NU. The Cats also committed 27 turnovers — nine more than its average — that led to 31 Ohio State points. NU’s shooting — 29.8 percent from the field — was also below its season average of 41 percent.
“It’s extremely frustrating because this isn’t how we play,” center Sarah Kwasinski said. “Right now we’re battling injuries, and we’re finding it hard to come together.”
Injuries have been a constant theme for NU since winter break. McComb is out three weeks with a stress fracture in her foot and forward Suzanne Morrison is out for the season because of an ankle injury. The Cats were also missing guard Kristin Ambrose, who was suspended one game for an unspecified violation of team rules and center Maria McCarthy, who has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules.
But the Cats did have one key contributor back in the lineup Sunday. Kwasinski, the team’s third-leading scorer, came off the bench after missing the Minnesota game with a viral infection. However, she showed some rust from her layoff. She managed a 2-of-7 shooting effort in the first half and finished with only four points and five rebounds.
“(She) is not her normal self yet,” NU coach June Olkowski said. “It’s going to take time.”
After starting the game on an 8-4 run, the Cats’ shooting went stone cold. Junior guard Melissa Culver nailed a trey with 15:32 left to play in the first half. After that it was more than nine minutes before the Cats next bucket. In that span, Ohio State piled in 23 points. The Buckeyes finished the half on a 38-9 run.
The main contributor in the run for Ohio State was forward Caity Matter. The senior shot 50 percent from the field and tallied a game-high 21 points.
“We lost her in transition,” Olkowski said. “She’s a great shooter.”
Even after another lopsided loss, Olkowski stayed adamant that things would turn around.
“They were better than we were today, but they’re not 40 points better,” Olkowski said. “(On offense) we didn’t handle their zone very well. They got in our passing lanes, we missed some shots, and they went in transition.
“We can make excuses with the injuries and suspensions, but we’re going to stay at it. You’re going to see the basketball that we can play.”
