Northwestern coach Beth Combs fell to her knees as senior Melissa Culver’s 40-foot would-be game winner made a 360-degree trip around the rim only to fall out as time expired.

The 62-60 loss to Wisconsin on Sunday before a home crowd of 1,051 was the second straight loss for NU. Indiana and Michigan were the only other teams not to get a Big Ten win in the opening week.

“We didn’t win the loose ball plays and we didn’t win the hustle plays,” Combs said of the Wildcats’ first-half effort. “In the second half we made that adjustment and we were able to play ourselves back into the ball game.”

NU recovered from a nine-point halftime deficit to control the game throughout most of the second half. The Cats led by as many as six and held a 60-58 advantage with 59 seconds left after a layup by junior Ifeoma Okonkwo.

After Wisconsin notched three points the old-fashioned way, the Cats found themselves down 61-60 with 34 seconds remaining. NU then had two consecutive possessions end in turnovers without a shot attempt.

NU (3-12, 0-2 Big Ten) started the game strong, going up 7-3 in the first two minutes. Wisconsin (6-5, 1-1) then went on a 9-0 run, giving them a lead they did not relinquish until mid-way through the second half.

Senior Samantha McComb led the Cats in the first half with eight points and two assists, finishing with a season-high 14 points. She was 4 of 4 from 3-point range for the game.

“I think Wisconsin came out and wanted it more in the beginning,” McComb said. “We shot the ball well at the beginning, but they got the hustle plays, they got the offensive boards.”

The Badgers pulled in 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and finished the game with 21.

The Cats came out with a 16-7 run in the second half and tied the Badgers 43-43 behind a 3-pointer from McComb with 12:05 left in the game.

NU led by six with 8:22 remaining after a 9-0 run led by freshman Sara Stutz, who started the spurt by scoring five consecutive points. She had 13 points and eight rebounds in the game.

“We decided to work hard to get second-chance opportunities and not let them get the second chance opportunities,” Stutz said.

Wisconsin made the score 62-60 with fewer than four seconds left after making 1 of 2 free throws, which set up Culver’s desperation buzzer shot.

“I thought it was in,” McComb said. “She hit one earlier in practice, and I really thought it was in. But you can’t rely on a half-court shot in order to finish out games.”

Rebounding made the difference for the Cats in the second half, when they beat the Badgers 23-21 on the glass. Okonkwo recorded a game-high 12 boards, with nine coming after the break.

Wisconsin is fourth in the Big Ten in rebounding margin, outrebounding its opponents by almost seven per game; NU is last in the conference, getting seven fewer rebounds than its opponents. Each team had 46 rebounds in Sunday’s game.

“We’re not a good rebounding team,” Combs said. “We have to keep pounding into our player’s heads that it is a big part of the game and we have to get better with rebounding — as well as every facet of the game.”

The loss was the first for the Cats in games decided by five points or less — now they are 2-1 in such games.

“Beth (Combs) is doing a great job,” Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said. “We survived a scare, Culver’s shot was all but in.”

Reach Abe Rakov at [email protected]