The Wildcats have been something of a mystery this season. Northwestern managed to stay with conference opponents such as Illinois, Indiana, and even jumped out to a double-digit lead against No. 7 Ohio State.
But the Cats (4-14, 0-7 Big Ten) have also lost to bottom-feeders Wisconsin and Penn State in spectacular fashion. The bizarre dichotomy has left the team searching for answers.
“We’re trying to figure that out,” coach Beth Combs said. “That can’t be acceptable. We can lose ball games. It’s OK to lose a ball game that you gave it all you got and the other team just beat you. It can not be acceptable for us to lose a game by 40 points to the second worst team in the league.”
No matter which way they spin it, the Cats sit in last place, with a winless conference record to show for their efforts.
With their blowout loss to the Lady Lions still fresh in their memories, the Cats will see a team with similar struggles looking back at them tonight as they travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to face the Wolverines.
“We need a win that much more now that we lost that bad to Penn State,” sophomore Sara Stutz said. “That was a game we could have won and had a chance to win and we just didn’t come out strong. We need to just really focus now on beating Michigan, a team that we’re confident we have to ability to beat.”
Northwestern and Michigan (6-13, 0-7) tip off tonight at 6 p.m. at Crisler Arena, as both teams will try to taste victory for the first time in more than a month.
Despite the urge to draw comparisons, Combs has been eager to strike down the notion that the Cats are carbon copies of their opponents.
“The only similarity is that we’re both 0-7,” Combs said. “They have a lot of underclassmen on the floor, as do we. But I think they’re a very different ball club than we are.”
As NU tries to halt its current nine-game skid, there has been an emphasis on improving an inconsistent shooting game. The Cats have scored more than 50 points in only three conference games, while their field goal percentage has been lackluster – they have shot more than 40 percent only twice in conference play – and has steadily dropped, reaching the depths of 19.6 percent against Penn State.
To counter the trend Combs has put a greater emphasis on shooting in practice, keeping track of scoring for offense and defense to creating a more competitive atmosphere.
The Cats need to parlay what Combs has called a “good” week of practices into a win tonight if they are to avoid sole possession of the conference cellar.
“I think about us getting better each game,” freshman Erin Dickerson said. “As long as we have confidence in ourselves, we’re our hardest critics.”
Reach David Kalan at [email protected].
