With the Wildcats’ new size garnering attention in the offseason, fans expected Northwestern to have an increased post presence. But not many expected an increased perimeter presence. After connecting on two 3-pointers in Sunday’s contest against IPFW, freshman forward Kendall Hackney leads the team with a 50 percent spot from beyond the arc. Not far behind is freshman forward Dannielle Diamant, who hit a pair 3s this weekend to up her mark to 33 percent.
“To have post players that can hit 3s makes defenses have to completely change up their rotation,” junior center Amy Jaeschke said. “We’re just so much harder to guard.”
Jaeschke knows the frustration of not having a viable 3-point option. Last year, the Cats struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 30 percent and finishing ninth in the conference.
This year Jaeschke has already noticed a difference in NU’s perimeter shooting.
“It’s just really fun for me to play with (players that can make 3s),” Jaeschke said. “I know that they’re going to be there for me to hit down the shots.”
After taking a combined 21 shots from beyond the arc in their first two games against Toledo and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, NU launched 24 shots from long distance against IPFW on Sunday.
“We knew their post players were going to help a lot,” Hackney said. “We knew the post would be open up top, so we were open a lot and we could shoot.”
The Cats shot 6-of-14 from downtown in the first half, but they came out cold in the second, going 1-of-10. Still, NU almost doubled its 3-point mark from 2008-2009, when they averaged 4.2 treys per game.
“We’re better than that,” McKeown said of the team’s 7-for-24 mark from beyond the arc. “We jacked up some 3s that looked like it was halftime of the NBA All-Star Game. We’re really good 3-point shooters at times, but we’re a little streaky now. I really do think this year we’re going to be a lot better team shooting the 3.”
Last year then-senior Erin Dickerson led NU from beyond the arc, connecting on 35 triples. But with Dickerson gone, the Cats are looking for someone else to step up. Sophomore forward Maggie Mocchi is one candidate. She finished second on the team last year with 25 long balls, and knocked down a pair Sunday. Junior guard Beth Marshall is another option. She missed the last two seasons with injuries, but shot 32 percent three years ago.
The third option – the posts, or the forwards and centers – could be the answer. This year, Jaeschke, Hackney, Diamant and sophomore forward Brittany Orban have attempted 23 shots from beyond the arc, half of the teams’ total.
“We can shoot,” Hackney said. “Which is a different aspect of this team from last year. We have a lot of big girls that can shoot.”
The season is still young, but the posts have already proved their 3-point prowess to the rest of the team, besting the guards at practice.
“We played 3-point knockout and the posts won,” Jaeschke said. “We’re reigning champs now.”[email protected]
