For much of the game, Northwestern seemed poised for a comeback against Illinois, but that comeback never came, and the Wildcats (6-18, 2-11 Big Ten) fell to the Illini (8-17, 4-10), 60-46.
Illinois’ lead wavered between six and 10 points until NU began fouling to stop the clock with a minute left. The Illini made three of their four attempts in the final minute and went 9-of-12 for the game, while the Cats failed to score at all after the 1:36 mark.
Just as converting free throws sealed the win for Illinois, failing to do so crippled NU. The Cats shot only 61 percent from the line, despite taking nine more free throws than the Illini.
“It’s just being confident in your free throws,” sophomore center Amy Jaeschke said. “I think that affects it a lot. I think it’s more mental than anything else. I think we’ll be shooting them a lot more in the next couple days before we go down to Ohio State.”
Turnovers hurt NU even more than missed free throws. The Cats recorded 18 miscues to only seven by the Illini, who were able to capitalize on the extra possessions to the tune of 17 points off of turnovers.
“A lot of times on offense, we get too stagnant,” said forward Kristin Cartwright, who finished with 12 points. “People just need to keep moving and keep shooting and be aware of where the ball is, and that will help us take better care of the ball.”
Jaeschke led the team with 13 points after a slow start in the first half, but made less than a third of her shots. The Illini constantly double- and triple-teamed Jaeschke, and the sophomore was frustrated offensively by Illinois’ athletic 6-foot-3-inch center, Jenna Smith.
The Cats were unable to stifle Smith on the other end of the court. The junior made 10-of-17 field goals for a game-high 21 points. Junior forward Lacey Simpson also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“They’ve only got a couple of players that are key players, so they shouldn’t have been that hard to match up against,” Cartwright said of Smith and Simpson. “We’re usually a terrific defensive team, and tonight we struggled defensively.”
While Jaeschke struggled offensively, she excelled as a defender, recording game-highs in both blocks (six) and rebounds (16). But only when Simpson left the game in the second half with an injury (returning later at less-than-full strength), did Jaeschke’s shots start falling.
“She’s really good at attacking the basket on offense,” Jaeschke said of Simpson. “And then on defense, her wingspan is ginormous.”
The Cats narrowly missed out on what would have been their third Big Ten win in a one-point loss to the Illini at home three weeks ago. While NU certainly used the heartbreaker as motivation, having an entire week to prepare for Illinois may have drained them mentally.
“We definitely – ourselves and the coaches – felt that we wanted to come down her and get something that was taken away the last game against them,” Cartwright said. “So we’re trying to have this positive attitude this week in practice, and today in shoot-around, coming in to the game, we didn’t have that energy that we should have.”
zacharybuchanan2007
@u.northwestern.edu
