Less than one month after the official start of practice, Northwestern faces what could be its most difficult non-conference opponent.
The Wildcats will follow their opener at Chicago State on Friday with a battle against Kansas State in their first home game this Monday. Kansas State returns three of its top four scorers after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament as a five-seed last year, knocking off Chattanooga before falling to Louisville.
Anxious to put the disappointment of last season’s injury-ravaged campaign behind them, the Cats are highly anticipating their first chance to see how they match up with a top team from a major conference.
“It’s better to play the harder teams, and it’s more fun too,” said junior forward Kristin Cartwright, who redshirted last year while recovering from an ACL injury. “You look forward to it more. It’s more exciting and you have to play your best.”
The downside of having Kansas State scheduled so early in the non-conference season is that NU is still getting used to the changes new coach Joe McKeown installed during the offseason.
Offensively, the team is transitioning to a more motion-oriented, fast-paced attack. On the defensive end, NU is switching from a man-to-man scheme to a matchup zone that utilizes a lot more full-court pressure.
Both Cartwright and junior guard Jenny Eckhart said the defense has been coming along nicely, but the offense is still a work in progress.
Cartwright attributed this difference to the fact the team started working on the zone first and moved to offense only after the defensive foundation had been laid.
Though the players have not had the ideal amount of time to adjust to the new systems, squaring off against a high-caliber foe at this early juncture might not be such a bad thing.
“I think it’s good to have that kind of a game,” Eckhart said. “Even if we aren’t completely ready for it, it’s good to challenge ourselves because that’s what we’ll be facing later.”
The Kansas State game is also an early opportunity for NU to showcase the significant strides it has made in such a small amount of time.
Last year the Cats faced three schools that played in the NCAA tournament at the end of the season: Georgia Tech, DePaul and New Mexico. They lost to all three by an average margin of slightly less than 25 points per game.
The players want to start off on the right foot by proving they can keep up with elite competition.
This is not to suggest NU is overlooking its season opener Friday against Chicago State, who went 16-13 last season. The Cougars were tough to beat at home last year, finishing with a 9-4 record, and have a dynamic weapon in Jasmin Dixon.
The senior guard led Chicago State with 17.7 points per game. She also paced the team in rebounds, blocks and steals and tied for the lead in assists. Dixon will present NU’s new defense with a tough first test.
The coaches have taken advantage of the last week of preseason workouts to stress a few areas the team still needs to improve.
One of those focuses has been increasing the number of what Cartwright called “hustle plays.”
“Charges, diving for loose balls-that’s something they’ve been trying to enforce,” she said. “Keep it at a very high intensity throughout the entire game.”
Eckhart added that the team hoped to commit fewer turnovers and come down with more rebounds than it did a year ago. She said it was especially important to control the glass on both ends of the floor.
But more than anything else, NU is just ready to get the season formally underway, regardless of the opponent.
“I think we’re anxious to play in game situations against people that aren’t our own teammates and don’t know all our plays and all our offenses and our defenses,” Eckhart said.
