Despite keeping within single-digits of Michigan State, Northwestern once again fell apart at the end of the game, losing 74-54 to the Spartans, marking the first time the Wildcats have lost by more than 10 in regulation on their home court this season.
NU was able to stay within reach for much of the game, but with minutes waning in the second half, the Cats were unable to close the gap. They began hurrying shots on offense and surrendering easy baskets on defense midway through the second period as the Spartans effectively sealed the win.
“We’ve got to find some offense,” said coach Joe McKeown. “We’ve got some people that are capable who’ve got to step up over the next couple games. We’re not deep enough right now to survive on 54 points in a game. It’s a big challenge for us.”
NU fell victim to Michigan State’s routine domination of the boards, although that domination uncharacteristically did not include Spartans 6-foot-9-inch center Alyssa DeHaan. After recording two quick fouls in the opening minutes, DeHaan played only 16 minutes the entire game and had only two rebounds.
Instead, freshman forward Lykendra Johnson controlled the glass, pulling down 15 rebounds and scoring 13 points. NU, on the other hand, couldn’t rebound the ball, even with DeHaan on the bench. Cats’ center Amy Jaeschke had only three rebounds in the first half, all of them on offense.
Although she didn’t mop up on the boards as might have been expected, Jaeschke had a field day offensively with DeHaan sidelined. The 6-foot-5 sophomore scored 16 of the Cats’ 29 first-half points, including NU’s first 15 points of the game.
“I thought she played a great first half,” McKeown said of Jaeschke, who finished with 22 points and seven rebounds. “She blocked shots, she controlled the paint. Offensively, when we couldn’t score, she was the only one. I’m really proud of her performance tonight.”
NU narrowed the lead to 44-38 just four minutes into the second half, but the Spartans began keying on Jaeschke, forcing the Cats to look elsewhere for scoring. From that point on, Michigan State began steadily pulling away as NU, unable to get anything going in the paint, began relying on outside shots.
“You try to whittle the score down one minute at a time,” said junior forward Kristin Cartwright, who fouled out for the second consecutive game. “It’s difficult, because you want to just get on big, huge runs and that’s not always going to happen.”
NU became impatient with whittling midway through the second half and instead attempted to start chopping away at the lead by taking quick shots from outside. But the Cats made only 15 of their 51 field goals, including 2-of-13 from behind the arc. Combined with NU’s inability to rebound, the Cat’s 29.4 shooting percentage was the equivalent of handing the Spartans the ball.
McKeown was ejected from the game after receiving two quick technical fouls with 8:11 remaining and his team down by 18, but the flare of emotion did little to stop NU’s free fall.
“When you’re struggling to score, and you’re grinding against teams, there’s a lot of fouls and a lot of free throws, and things seem to be going against you, you’ve got to do something,” said McKeown, who watched the rest of the game in his office.
McKeown may have drawn the referee’s ire intentionally to get the Cats’ blood flowing, but he got more than he bargained for.
“The first one I knew I was going to get; I anticipated that,” he said. “The second one, I was a little bit surprised.”
