Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

42° Evanston, IL
Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Swatted down, out (Women’s Basketball)

When the evening began it seemed Northwestern might defeat No. 10 Ohio State for the first time in seven years. The Wildcats jumped out to an 11-0 lead with play bordering on perfection.

“I think they probably were convinced they couldn’t play any worse,” Ohio State coach Jim Foster said of his Buckeyes.

Ohio State failed to score from the floor for more than six minutes as NU held preseason All-American center Jessica Davenport at bay.

Kim Wilburn scored the Buckeyes’ first points from the field on a 3-pointer. Three minutes later Ohio State had the lead. When the smoke cleared in a sloppy first half that featured a combined 28 turnovers, Ohio State (10-2, 2-1 Big Ten) had a 44-28 lead and never looked back, finishing with a convincing 82-54 win.

“They underestimated us to start the game, which, in all honesty, is rightly so when you’re playing us and you’re Ohio State,” NU coach Beth Combs said. “But then they’re able to turn it on. I think we stepped back on our heels a little bit and weren’t ready for that kind of onslaught.”

The Buckeyes weathered an early storm in the second half from sophomore guard Sara Stutz, who scored eight points in the first three and a half minutes to pull the Cats within 10. But Ohio State answered with a 13-6 run that effectively put the game away.

Stutz finished with 15 points and two steals, but was also responsible for six glaring turnovers. While NU (4-9, 0-3) turned the ball over half as many times in the second half as the first, they gave up the ball 27 times, leading to 33 Ohio State points.

“I take a lot of the blame,” Stutz said. “They have some really good athletic guards up front and I just think I wasn’t ready to handle all the pressure they were putting on.”

NU was not the only team that had trouble handling the ball. Ohio State turned the ball over on its first five possessions.

“In the beginning of the game they came in with so much energy,” Wilburn said. “They were playing great defense. They were knocking down their shots. I think once we started to match their intensity level – it worked with all the people that we had.”

Ironically, the Buckeyes’ comeback didn’t start until Davenport was put on the bench. Davenport had been responsible for her team’s entire offensive output to that point, hitting three shots from the charity stripe.

With the All-American gone, Wilburn spurred Ohio State to a 15-5 run, scoring seven points and recording one of her five steals on the night.

When Davenport returned, NU promptly took the lead again on a 3-pointer by Erin Dickerson. But a minute later Davenport scored her first points in the paint as the Buckeyes slowly wrested control from the feisty Cats.

Davenport finished with 22 points in 27 minutes, eight boards and three blocks.

“A lot of her points were later in the game, so I have to take some consolation in that,” Combs said.

While the end result was a loss, there was a positive buzz around the Cats after the game, who felt as though they had held their own against a top-10 opponent.

“I’m very proud of our effort this evening,” Combs said. “Obviously, Ohio State is one of the best teams in the land and I thought we made them think about what they had to do tonight. At least for a good 25-30 minutes.”

Reach David Kalan at [email protected].

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881
Swatted down, out (Women’s Basketball)