First-year basketball coach Beth Combs had a rude introduction to major-conference play in Northwestern’s opening weekend.
The Wildcats struggled on defense in a 76-64 loss to Creighton on Friday and an 89-55 blowout at the hands of West Virginia on Monday.
The Cats (0-2) were shot out of the gym by the Mountaineers (2-0), who hit over 60 percent from the field in the first half and had three players score in double figures.
“I don’t think we came out to play,” Combs said. “I think overall we didn’t compete for 40 minutes, and West Virginia really took it to us.”
With 5:37 left in the first half, West Virginia’s Sherell Sowho had 18 points. NU as a team had 19.
“I think they had a gazillion lay-ups in transition,” senior Sarah Kwasinski said. “That was definitely the key in the game.”
The second half wasn’t any better for the Cats, as West Virginia shot 64 percent and added another player to the list of Mountaineers in double-digits.
West Virginia ended the game with four players scoring in double figures. Three players combined for 65 points — 10 more then the Cats managed to score.
West Virginia’s Yolanda Paige tied a Big East record with 18 assists.
“Learning a new system is always hard,” Combs said. “But tonight we did not get back on transition defense. That is not a problem of learning a new system.”
NU shot 36.5 percent from the floor and had two players score in double figures. Senior Suzanne Morrison had 12 points while freshman Sara Stutz added 10. Kwasinski led the team with eight rebounds.
“I don’t think this trip was a total negative experience,” Kwasinski said. “We got a lot of good looks and they are a pressuring team, so I think it was good practice for us.”
The Cats’ defense wasn’t much better on Friday. NU shot better than 47 percent from the field, had 41 rebounds and 20 assists and still lost to Creighton (2-0) by 12.
Twenty-three NU turnovers, 25 Creighton offensive rebounds and 14 3-pointers were too much for the Cats to overcome in Combs’ first regular-season game behind the bench.
“Creighton is a heck of a ball club and we knew it would be really tough to beat them,” Combs said. “They got in better position and their effort was better. They just overwhelmed us.”
NU came out to an early 6-3 lead before Creighton had runs of 18-11 and 23-14, leaving the Cats down by 13 at halftime.
The Cats struggled to make up ground in the second half, cutting the lead to eight with 11:55 remaining. That was the closest NU managed to get as the Cats traded baskets with Creighton the rest of the game.
“We needed to stop penetration and box out, but we didn’t do it,” Combs said. “We had a lot of unforced turnovers.”
NU dominated the inside, scoring 38 points in the paint.
But the Cats could not translate offensive success down low to the defensive end, where Creighton had 14 more offensive rebounds than the Cats and 22 second-chance points.
The Cats’ bench kept them in the game, scoring 29 points.
Kwasinski shot 7 of 13 from the floor and led the team with 15 points. She also had four rebounds, four assists and three blocks in 27 minutes off the bench.
“(The bench) did some good things,” Combs said. “We are going to need all 12 people in order to win ball games.”
Morrison started where she left off in the exhibition game, shooting 50 percent from the field while scoring 14 points and collecting six rebounds.
Freshman Melissa Miller led the team with seven rebounds. Senior point guard Samantha McComb added a team-high six assists.
“We have two great post players and did a decent job getting them the ball,” Combs said. “The problem wasn’t the offense, we just didn’t get it done on defense.”
Combs said her team still has a long way to go in learning her system and philosophy.
“I think we need to work on a lot of the little things,” Combs said. “We need to put in a little more intensity and do better with our work ethic.”
