By Philip Rossman-ReichThe Daily Northwestern
For 17 games, Northwestern has seen virtually the same result.
Down by double digits in the first half, the Wildcats cut the lead to two points by halftime, the closest they’ve been at halftime in nearly a month.
But Michigan (10-14, 3-8 Big Ten) used a press defense and a scoring streak by sophomore forward Carly Benson to race ahead of NU (6-18, 0-11), sending the Cats to a single-season record 17-game losing streak, 61-49 at Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The 17-game losing streak ties the team record set by the 2000-01 and 2001-02 squads. The two teams combined for the longest total losing streak in school history at 22, losing 17 to end the 2000-01 and five at the beginning of the 2001-02 seasons.
“I thought we played a good first half,” coach Beth Combs said. “We got back on our heels a little bit. We answered. (We) needed our defensive intensity and our aggressiveness and we didn’t do that the second half. That becomes things we control as a team.”
The Wolverines opened up an eight point lead with a 22-6 run to open the second half. The Cats couldn’t mount a second comeback and give themselves a chance to win their first Big Ten game.
Benson scored 10 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half and had 22 in the game. The sophomore picked up the slack for the Wolverines who were missing leading scorer Krista Phillips.
The Cats trailed the Wolverines by 13 points with fewer than seven minutes remaining in the first half. Unlike in previous games, the Cats didn’t let a first half deficit of more than 10 points balloon into an insurmountable deficit.
NU held Michigan scoreless for six and a half minutes until Jessica Minfield hit a three with the shot clock expiring with almost 30 seconds to play. By then the Cats had made it a one point game.
They forced 11 first half turnovers and had eight steals. Those created fast break opportunities for senior forward A.J. Glasauer who led the Cats into the locker room with 10 points.
She finished with 18 points and a career-high five steals, scoring most of her points on fast break lay-ups.
“We tried to be really aggressive on defense,” Glasauer said. “I think it’s a good thing we were aggressive on the boards and taking care of the ball. It’s taking good shots. We’ve got to work on it.”
Junior guard Sara Stutz finished with 14 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Kristin Carwright nearly had a double-double, scoring eight points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds.
NU collected five more offensive rebounds than Michigan – 20 to 15 – and had fewer turnovers – 15 to 22 – but NU continued to struggle shooting the ball. The Cats shot 31 percent from the field. Glasauer scored 18 points, but she shot 9 of 23. The team went 0 of 14 from beyond the arc.
“Again, it’s hustle plays and defensive intensity because, along the stat line we beat them in a lot of categories,” Combs said.
The Cats made a small run toward the end of the game, trimming the Wolverine’s 17-point lead down to 11 with fewer than two minutes to play.
NU used a press defense of their own to force some turnovers and nearly brought the lead back under single digits. The Cats stole the ball on three consecutive plays with Glasauer and Stutz converting on lay-ups.
Junior guard Nadia Bibbs recorded her fourth steal and found freshman guard Beth Marshall open for three. But Marshall’s three rimmed out.
“I think we can take this into next game,” Cartwright said. “It obviously shows that we can push and take momentum.”
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