BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Well, at least it was close this time.
The Northwestern women’s basketball team lost its fifth straight game on Sunday, falling at Indiana in overtime, 58-55.
With just 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation, sophomore Ifeoma Okonkwo was fouled on her way to the hoop. She sank both free throws, sending the game to overtime.
But in the extra period, freshman Alex Mueller failed to hit a 3-pointer that would have tied the game with a little more than two seconds remaining, and the Wildcats (7-9, 0-5 Big Ten) went down in Bloomington.
“I hit my first three shots of the game. We ran our offense well, and we ran the cuts hard,” Mueller said. “But we missed too many layups. I missed two or three of my own.”
For the first time since a loss to Michigan on Jan. 4, the Cats entered halftime with the lead.
NU spread the ball around well in the first half, with seven players scoring at least two points.
Mueller led the team with nine first-half points (19 for the game) on 3-for-4 shooting from behind the three-point line.
On defense, NU was able to slow down most Indiana players, but junior standout Jenny DeMuth was too much, leading the Hoosiers with 10 first-half points and six rebounds. She scored 17 on the game.
Freshman Angela Hawkins got a surprise start for the Hoosiers (9-7, 2-3), and she didn’t disappoint, scoring nine first-half points. She finished the game with 11.
Overwhelming defense under the basket, however, enabled the Cats to hold the rest of the Indiana squad to a combined six points before the break, and NU took a 27-25 lead into the locker room.
The second half got off to a slow start, with neither team scoring for more than 4:30. DeMuth converted on a free throw to snap the scoring drought. But Indiana took a commanding lead soon after, and the Hoosiers were up 41-33 with just 10 minutes remaining.
NU didn’t step down from the challenge.
The Cats went on a 14-4 run and tied the game to send it into an extra session.
Both DeMuth and Hawkins finished with double-doubles in points and rebounds.
The Cats’ defense also faltered in the second half against Hoosiers guard Cyndi Valentin, who totaled just two points in the first half but finished the contest with a game-high 24. Half of them came off 3-pointers.
“DeMuth and Valentin are excellent balplayers, and they’re the type of players that are able to take over the game,” junior Sarah Kwasinski said. “That’s what they did.”
Kwasinski, who started her first game since Dec. 16, finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
“She looked so much better,” coach June Olkowski said. “I think she’s finally getting her playing legs back.”
“I felt much more like myself,” Kwasinski said. “I was comfortable out there.”
After four Big Ten blowouts, the Cats looked much more consistent against Indiana. But they’ll need to continue moving forward if they plan on turning close games into victories.
“This was a much, much better game than the past three games,” Mueller said. “It was a good step in the right direction.”
