During Northwestern’s recent road trip to Indiana and Iowa, junior center Amy Jaeschke averaged 24 points, nine rebounds and five blocks. For her efforts she was named Big Ten Player of the Week.
Jaeschke’s performance wasn’t enough. With no other starter reaching double figures, the Wildcats lost both games.
‘There was no consistency when we needed it,’ coach Joe McKeown said. ‘We didn’t have a problem scoring at Iowa-we just didn’t defend. At Indiana we defended pretty well, but we just couldn’t score. That’s just part of being a young team.’
As NU (12-8, 3-6 Big Ten) prepares to face two of the better Big Ten teams in Michigan State (13-7, 4-5) and Wisconsin (15-5, 5-4), McKeown knows what has to change.
‘We need more balance,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to get more scoring out of people that are capable. Kristin Cartwright and Brittany Orban both struggled a little bit at Iowa. But they’ve proven they can score all year.’
The Cats’ perimeter players struggled against the Hoosiers and Hawkeyes. Orban and Cartwright, NU’s second- and fourth-leading scorers, respectively, combined for 22 points in those two games. Part of the problem for the players was their inability to hold onto the ball. NU, which has a conference-worst minus-3.05 turnover margin, committed a combined 37 turnovers against Indiana and Iowa.
Junior guard Beth Marshall pointed to the importance of perimeter play against the Spartans and Badgers.
‘We need good passes and we need to do our part with knocking down shots,’ Marshall said. ‘Because when everyone else hits shots they have a harder time doubling (Jaeschke) and leaving one of us open.’
Solid play by the guards is crucial for Thursday’s matchup with Michigan State, as NU won’t have many second-chance opportunities. Led by 6-foot-9 center Allyssa DeHaan and 6-foot-1 forward Lykendra Johnson, the Spartans lead the conference in offensive rebounds and blocked shots. While DeHaan holds the Big Ten record with 463 blocks, this year she trails Jaeschke for the conference lead by 10 rejections.
Jaeschke is familiar with DeHaan from when the two were teammates on Team USA at the U19 World Championships in the summer of 2007. After playing with DeHaan and then against her, Jaeschke has learned how to stop the Big Ten’s tallest player.
‘Her height poses a lot of challenges,’ Jaeshcke said. ‘But one thing that every post player has on her is strength. She’s not the strongest player, so making sure to bump her and be physical is the way to beat her.’
McKeown agreed, noting the best approach is to keep challenging DeHaan in the paint.
‘The mistake some people make is to try to turn and shoot over her,’ he said. ‘I don’t think that’s a good strategy. You’ve just got to play and try to take her out of her comfort zone.’
Even after losing six of their last seven games, the Cats are fighting for postseason eligibility. For a team that hasn’t made the NCAA or NIT tournament in 13 years, that’s a big step.
‘To be sitting here with a winning record and knowing you have a chance to put a stamp on this year and make it special, we’ve put ourselves in good position,’ McKeown said. [email protected]
