By Philip Rossman-ReichThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern trailed Michigan State by 18 points early in the second half. During what has become a record single season losing streak, the Wildcats saw leads like the one the Spartans built grow into blowout losses.
But something was different about their effort against Michigan State – ranked No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today Coach’s poll.
NU used a pesky defense to fight its way back into the game. The Cats tipped at passes. They dove on the floor for loose balls and fought for every rebound.
“A lot of times, we kind of get down on ourselves and the lead grows and grows,” freshman center Kaitlin McInerney said. “That run killed us in the end, but the fact that we came back says something about our team.”
In the end, the Cats couldn’t erase the Spartans advantage. But with two minutes remaining, they had cut an 18 point lead down to four. Their seven-point loss to Michigan State was only their fourth loss by less than 10 points during the losing streak.
The Spartans built their lead by scoring the first 11 points of the second half, capping a 22-7 run. They began the run trailing the Cats 18-15 with more than seven minutes remaining in the first stanza.
“Michigan State came out with an attitude,” coach Beth Combs said. “It wasn’t about their players. It wasn’t about their play. It wasn’t about our players. It was about an attitude and an intensity. As soon as we could settle down and match that, we were able to do that at the end of the half.”
The Spartans kept the lead over 10 early in the second half. But then the Cats made a stand and fought back.
Michigan State scored its final field goal of the game with 6:09 remaining. The Spartans had a 14-point lead.
The lead was cut down to 10 thanks to free throws from senior forward A.J. Glasauer. Then it went down to eight on a lay-up by sophomore forward Kristin Cartwright. Then Cartwright and junior guard Sara Stutz added more free throws. The Cats trailed by four.
Despite the comeback, Stutz said there was still more the team could do. She said they still missed box outs and had too many turnovers in the second half.
Not to mention their struggles shooting.
According to Stutz, the support from the team helped NU fight back.
“We were all focused and had the comeback in mind and thought we could do it,” Stutz said. “It takes a team and I think we came together tonight in a good way.”
NU came out at the beginning of the game strong. The Cats forced three turnovers on the Spartans’ first three possessions and took an 11-2 lead early.
The Spartans didn’t score their first points until nearly five minutes into the first half.
“I think our defense did a great job tonight,” Combs said. “We were aggressive. And for us to … compete down to the wire and actually make this a game is something we can build on and I’m very, very proud of our team tonight.”
Reach Philip Rossman-Reich at [email protected].
