Well, at least it was close this time.
After enduring a savage 77-35 beating from Ohio State on Jan. 11 at Welsh-Ryan Arena, the Northwestern women’s basketball team was much more competitive in Thursday night’s rematch in Columbus, Ohio. Although the Wildcats suffered a 57-46 loss, they were able to stay with the Buckeyes for the majority of the game in St. John’s Arena in front of 2,322.
NU’s shot was abysmally in the contest. The Cats (8-17, 1-13 Big Ten) converted only 18-of-53 from the floor, while the Buckeyes (16-8, 8-5) shot the lights out.
Ohio State drained 20-of-45 from the field, including a 13-of-21 effort in the first half.
“They are huge and very patient offensively,” senior forward Michelle Zylstra said. “They have one of the leading three-point shooters in the nation (Caity Matter), and they do a good job of getting the ball to their big girls and shooting high-percentage shots.”
Matter was not the thorn in NU’s side that she was in the last meeting. She scored 21 points, including 4-of-8 on three-pointers, to lead all scorers on Jan. 11.
In the sequel she scored only nine points and was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.
While NU was busy shutting down Matter, Ohio State was stopping all the Cats except for Zylstra. The Buckeyes had nine blocks in the game and forced NU out of the paint, leaving the Cats no choice but to become one-dimensional, firing up 25 three-pointers in the game.
“When they start a girl that is six-foot-five and another that is 6-3 inside, that is pretty intimidating,” Olkowski said. “They are known for their defense, and they have been doing this all year.”
But Zylstra was not fazed by the powerful inside presence. In what will likely be the fourth-to-last game of her college career, Zylstra pulled out a career-high 19 points.
“This was no different than any other game,” Zylstra said. “It’s nice to score, but it’s not anything that any player would want to do.”
One Cats player who had a particularly difficult time against the Ohio State defense was point guard Samantha McComb. The junior typically likes to work on the outside and penetrate the middle, but the Buckeyes consistently kept her away from the hoop.
The Ohio State defense held McComb to five points, which included a three-pointer with 25 seconds left in the game. The floor general shot 2 of 14 from the field, 2 of 7 from three-point range, and provided only four rebounds and three assists.
“Give credit to Ohio State,” Zylstra said. “I think Sam got blocked five times when she tried to take the ball to the middle.”
Where NU did come away with a small victory is in the turnover differential. For the second time in three games, NU committed fewer turnovers than its opposition.
Ohio State turned the ball over 19 times compared to the Cats’ 14.
“In the second half we got our hands on a lot of passes and made them turn the ball over,” Olkowski said. “This is the type of defense we need to put together for four days in the (Big Ten) tournament.”
The Cats are in action again this Sunday, when they will take on Minnesota in Minneapolis. In their last meeting, on January 8, the Golden Gophers beat NU 72-40.
