Ohio State is on a roll, and the Northwestern women’s basketball team is looking to avenge a painful Big Ten loss.
The Wildcats (8-16, 1-12 Big Ten) head to Columbus, Ohio, tonight to face the Buckeyes at 7 p.m. NU will be looking for revenge after getting crushed 77-35 by Ohio State (15-8, 7-5) on Jan. 11, in the team’s worst loss of the season.
“They were better than we were today, but they are not 40 points better,” coach June Olkowski said after the loss.
In order to prove the 42-point defeat was just a fluke, the Cats will have to stop Ohio State junior Caity Matter, who scored 21 points with four three-pointers at Welsh-Ryan Arena in January.
Matter is coming off an emotional weekend. After arriving in East Lansing, Mich., on Saturday for a matchup with No. 20 Michigan State, Matter found out by phone that her 15-year-old brother, Ricky, had died in a car accident, according to USA Today.
But Matter played on, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Sunday’s win over the Spartans.
“The game didn’t really matter,” Matter said in a prepared statement. “I wanted to go out and win for Ricky. That is all that matters right now.”
Matter earned Big Ten Player of the Week accolades on Monday after helping her team get two of its most important victories of the season.
Last Thursday Ohio State upset No. 10 Minnesota, 75-57, in Columbus, holding the Golden Gophers to just 4-for-19 shooting from behind the arc.
Then, the Buckeyes won their game at Michigan State on Sunday, 72-53, holding the Spartans to 4-of-16 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Meanwhile, the Cats remember their 4-for-17 three-point shooting against the Buckeyes last time around. In order to avoid another embarrassing loss, NU will have to take control of the best scoring defense in the Big Ten.
“It’s extremely frustrating because this isn’t how we play,” NU center Sarah Kwasinski said on Jan. 11. “Right now we’re battling injuries and we’re finding it hard to come together.”
Kwasinski has seen a lot more playing time since recovering from injuries, and junior Samantha McComb recently showed signs of being her normal self in a loss to No. 5 Purdue after sitting most of the conference season.
