By Philip Rossman-ReichThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern nearly made a double-digit comeback against Iowa. They nearly eclipsed their win total from last season. They nearly sent home an announced crowd of 3,121 fans – the largest crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena in two years – with a victory.
Nearly wasn’t good enough.
Freshman guard Beth Marshall’s driving shot from the corner soared over the basket with time running out allowing the Hawkeyes (8-9, 2-2 Big Ten) to escape with a 63-61 win over the Wildcats (6-10, 0-3).
NU trailed Iowa 48-39 with 7:52 to play in the game. But they came storming back, taking a 56-55 lead with 3:13 left. It was their first lead since holding a 23-21 advantage in the first half.
“I think it’s a great breakthrough for this team,” coach Beth Combs said. “These guys did it today. They played well and they played together. We proved that we can play with anyone in the conference. We just need to look to bring it every single day and make plays.”
Junior forward Melissa Miller led the comeback, scoring 16 points, 12 of them in the final eight minutes of the game. Miller added eight rebounds and matched Iowa center Megan Skouby down the stretch as Iowa tried to pull away.
The 6-foot-6 Skouby scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Hawkeyes against the 6-foot-1 Miller and 6-foot-0 freshman center Kaitlin McInerney.
“You can’t coach size,” Combs said. “They finally started using (Skouby’s) height in the second half. Miller was in the right spots, she did the right things. We gave her a couple second chance buckets here and there. Miller was able to answer every time. You make a mistake and you correct it the next time down and you make a play.”
NU went into the half trailing the Hawkeyes 29-25 even though the Cats struggled to shoot from the field and from beyond the three point line.
Glasauer led the Cats into the locker with 12 points. She finished the game with 17 points after scoring only two points on one-for-eight shooting Thursday at Penn State.
“For me it’s always (about our defense),” Glasauer said. “This is how I get into my game. It’s not (up to) one person. In the first half of the game, one player steps up. In the second half, we need the other one to step up. If the offense doesn’t work for me, I bust my butt on defense.”
McInerney scored only four points, but had 10 rebounds and seven assists. Marshall added eight points and played an important role in NU’s comeback.
NU’s strong finish was a change of pace from previous games with opponents like No. 24 DePaul, in which the Cats remained close only to see their opponents pull away at the end.
Glasauer said the team’s comeback was a good thing for them, but also showed what they are capable of in the future.
“It gives us confidence,” Glasauer said. “(Iowa) played a five-point game with (No. 7) Ohio State. It has a negative side to it because we know we can do it, so why don’t we do it everyday. We know we can play with a top team one day and then lose to Penn State by 25. It shows us we can do it and we have to do it everyday.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
