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

The Daily Northwestern

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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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Second-half surge turns early lead into blowout (Women’s Basketball)

Before Northwestern tipped off against Iowa on Sunday, there was an intimidating air as the Wildcats listened to loud, unified chants of “Let’s Go Hawks” emanating from an unusually large section of visiting fans.

“We knew coming into this game there wasn’t going to be a lot of fans,” said Iowa guard Crystal Smith. “We had to make this game loud for ourselves.”

While the home fans responded with their own rendition of “Let’s Go Cats,” the Cats failed to do the same on the court, as they suffered a 80-48 drubbing at the hands of the Hawkeyes.

Within nine minutes Iowa led 28-7, shooting over 70 percent from the field. NU managed to trim the lead to 16 by halftime, but an offensive assault from behind the arc put the game well out of reach by the middle of the second half.

“It’s not okay to take a 16-point game and turn it into a 30-point game,” said coach Beth Combs. “It’s not okay to watch No. 50 hit three straight 3-point shots because we can’t find her on the court.”

The Hawkeyes hit all six of their 3-pointers in the second half, including three by No. 50 Lindsey Nyenhuis, who came off the bench to score 11 points.

Iowa was led by center Megan Skouby, who deftly mixed mid- and long-range jumpers with layups in the paint, in shooting 50 percent and scoring 18 points. NU responded with Lauren Roberts who led the team with 10 points and was the lone Cats player to score in double figures in her first significant action of the season.

“Because other people’s shots weren’t dropping, I felt confident in taking all of the shots that I did,” Roberts said. “I was able to make some of my shots that I wouldn’t have been able to make otherwise.”

Roberts and Julie Bielawski, who missed Thursday’s game due to illness, helped the Cats hold Iowa to 26 points in the paint after giving up 47 to Indiana three days earlier.

“We did a better job,” Combs said. “I think the other day Indiana went hard to the basket and we didn’t do a very good job defensively. I think today in the first half we did a good job defensively and we couldn’t put the ball in the hole.

“That’s part of our problem right now. I’ve got nine freshmen/sophomores and every game is a new challenge for us. We don’t know whether we’re gonna show up offensively or defensively.”

Roberts’ return – she has been dealing with residual effects of a concussion she suffered last summer – was a lone bright spot for NU, which shot abysmally from the field.

A.J. Glasauer and Ifeoma Okonkwo, the two senior members of the team, combined for only four points.

“I have to look to myself,” said Glasauer, who finished 0 for 7. “It’s not acceptable as one of the leading scorers on the team and an upperclassmen not to put up any points in an important game like that.”

The Cats finished shooting 27.3 percent from the field, including a 22.9 percent effort from their starting five. With only two days to practice before Wednesday’s contest against Wisconsin-Milwaukee, there is little time for the coaching staff to find a solution to NU’s shooting troubles.

“In all honesty, I’ve only not had success for a year and a half now,” Combs said. “I don’t know what its like to lose for a long period of time, and these kids don’t know what its like to lose. They all come from great programs.

“We’re a very young team, but I’ve got three starters who have shot 20% in the last three games. We’re gonna have to deal with that. We’re gonna have to make some changes.”

Reach David Kalan at [email protected].

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Second-half surge turns early lead into blowout (Women’s Basketball)