It might not have been pretty, but Northwestern beat Houston Baptist 68-60 on Thursday night for its first victory of the season.
For the Wildcats, it was liberating to win one after starting the year with back-to-back tough losses.
“Coming out 0-2, you definitely want to get a win under your belt,” freshman forward Brittany Orban said. “It was sloppy and we all know we have a lot of things to work on. As Coach (Joe McKeown) told us in the locker room, there are harder practices to come and a lot more hustling to go.”
NU scored the first 10 points of the game and led by as many as 15 near the end of the first half, but the team could not manage to put Houston Baptist away early.
The teams combined for 53 turnovers, with the Cats committing 25 miscues.
The Huskies trailed 30-21 at the half despite 20 first half turnovers and shooting 33.3 percent.
The second half told a similar story.
NU (1-2) held a 15-point advantage but was unable to sustain it, letting Houston Baptist (1-2) hang around and keep the final margin in single digits.
The Cats have handled opponent 3-point shooters well so far this season. The Huskies broke through from long distance. Raquel Jones sank five shots from beyond the arc and scored 17 points.
Sophomore center Amy Jaeschke, who scored 19 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and blocked five shots, said the team still has to learn how to finish teams off after struggling for the second straight game to do so.
“We haven’t quite figured out how to bury teams yet,” Jaeschke said. “We lose focus at points, and we really need leadership out on the court.”
Free throws were one of the biggest reasons why NU could not turn the game into a blowout. The Cats converted just 16 of 27 attempts at the line and only 10 of their first 21.
McKeown said there was no excuse for his team’s performance at the charity stripe.
Instead, NU got a scoring boost from other areas.
Erin Dickerson provided a spark coming off the bench to help bring the Cats out of their funk in the middle of the first half. The senior scored eight points and had four assists.
Orban also gave the team a lift in her first career start. She scored the game’s first two baskets and finished with 13 points.
Though Jaeschke struggled before the break, she bounced back with a strong second half to lead the Cats in scoring for the third game in a row. McKeown said Houston Baptist’s quick, athletic defense gave her some problems early on and he was proud of the way she kept fighting.
“They zoned us and they collapsed on her,” he said. “They did a good job taking away passing angles into the post. I think we did a better job in the second half. She did a better job sealing. We did a better job getting her the ball.”
The 6-foot-5 Jaeschke was the tallest player on the floor by a substantial margin for most of the game. She took advantage of her size, grabbing seven offensive boards and getting her second double-double in the first three games.
Sophomore guard Meshia Reed ended up with 10 points, her third straight game scoring in double digits. Junior forward Kristin Cartwright added a career high 14 points and six steals.
“When we needed some plays, she came up big for us,” McKeown said.
