When Michigan State center Allyssa DeHaan went to the bench after picking up her second foul with 14:54 left in the first half, Northwestern had a golden opportunity to make a run.
Other than their 6-foot-9 junior, the Spartans had no one else taller than 6-foot-1. NU center Amy Jaeschke had a four-inch height advantage over everyone else on the floor and made the most of it. In the first half, the sophomore scored 16 points and blocked four shots, while DeHaan spent 13 minutes on the sidelines and pulled down one rebound.
“It was kind of a breath of fresh air just to be able to take it in against someone who’s around my size,” Jaeschke said.
Jaeschke’s supporting cast warmed up after a slow start, and the Wildcats held a slight advantage in shooting percentage at halftime.
Despite those positives, the Cats still found themselves facing a 38-29 halftime deficit because they could not overcome the Spartans’ 29-16 edge in rebounds. Michigan State cashed in, compiling 15 more second-chance points and 14 more shots than NU before intermission.
“They’re physical players,” NU coach Joe McKeown said. “They’ve got real good size and strength.”
Entering Thursday night’s game, the Spartans ranked 12th in the nation in rebounding margin at plus-10.1. Their dominance on the boards was on display in the second half as well, even though DeHaan’s third foul came with 18:35 remaining and forced her out again. For the game, she played 16 minutes and added just two rebounds, but the Spartans were still able to pull away for a 74-54 victory.
Jaeschke struggled on the glass at times, failing to notch a defensive rebound until midway through the second half. She finished with seven boards, the only NU player with more than four.
The Cats’ second-tallest player, senior forward Ellen Jaeschke, got in early foul trouble and played only nine minutes. It was reminiscent of her performance in the loss at Michigan State two weeks ago, when she had four fouls in 10 minutes.
Almost all of the Spartans’ 53-37 rebounding advantage came on the offensive glass. Michigan State tallied 25 offensive boards, more than double NU’s total of 11.
“They miss a lot of their first shots, but all their points come off their second and third shots,” Amy Jaeschke said.
The 53 rebounds were the most the Cats have given up this season and 14 more than the Spartans collected in the first game between the two teams. Freshman forward Lykendra Johnson led the way for Michigan State, picking up seven offensive boards and 15 total.
NU also ended up with 25 fouls for the game, many coming during physical battles on the glass. The Spartans shot 37 free throws, a season high.
Though Michigan State made fewer than 35 percent of its shots from the field, the extra chances created by its rebounding proved to be the difference even though NU knew what to expect going into the game.
“They’re not the best outside shooting team, so that’s what they rely on is their offensive boards,” junior forward Kristin Cartwright said. “They’ve just got five people going to the glass every time, which not every team has.”
