After Northwestern’s best season in the past decade, one in which it won more conference games than in the past three years combined, the Wildcats find themselves in a familiar place heading into the Big Ten Tournament-near the bottom. With a 7-11 conference record, NU finished in a three-way tie for eighth place with Illinois and Indiana. Because the Illini and the Hoosiers own tiebreakers over the Cats, NU dropped to the 10th seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
For the Cats that may be a blessing in disguise.
Rather than playing in the 8-9 matchup, where NU would go up against Illinois or Indiana-who own a combined 3-1 record against the Cats-NU will face Michigan. The Cats swept the Wolverines this season, the only time NU has beaten a Big Ten team twice in the same year since 1998-99.
Still, in the one-and-done Big Ten Tournament, the Cats know what is at stake.
“We’re confident that we can handle (Michigan) because we have in the past,” junior guard Beth Marshall said. “But we also know that in tournaments it’s a whole new season. We can’t take that for granted. It’s hard to beat someone more than once and three times is extremely hard.”
The Wolverines are known for their perimeter play-Michigan has jacked up 195 shots from beyond the arc, second-most in the Big Ten. Meanwhile NU has struggled to defend opposing shooters, allowing opponents to take a conference-most 558 3-pointers. If the Cats are going to take down the Wolverines, they are going to have to clamp down on defense.
“They have a great perimeter shooting team,” Marshall said. “A lot of (defending them) is just contesting shots … That’s a big factor-beating them to the spot on defense, knowing their plays and being able to anticipate what happens next so that we’re not running our girls through stagger screen after double screen.”
In their two matchups, NU beat Michigan at its own game. On Dec. 28 in Ann Arbor, Mich., both teams took 18 shots from beyond the arc-the Wolverines made just five while the Cats sunk seven. On Feb. 2 in Evanston, Michigan shot 40 percent from downtown. But again it was bested by NU-the Cats nailed nine 3s and shot 47 percent from beyond the arc.
NU’s strong perimeter shooting begins in the paint. One of the Cats’ strengths is a formidable inside-out game. If first-team All-Big Ten center Amy Jaeschke can’t get the job done near the basket, she can kick the ball out to one of NU’s guards or forwards on the perimeter. Marshall and sophomore forward Brittany Orban have become threats from beyond the arc, both ranking in the top 11 in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage.
“We’ll attack teams on the inside and try to expose them there,” Jaeschke said. “And then if they start packing it in on defense around our post players it gives our guards more open shots.”
For coach Joe McKeown, a seasoned veteran with 19 postseason appearances, the playoffs are not about who a team plays, rather they are about how a team plays.
“Whoever you’re playing is irrelevant; you’ve got to play with the same sense of urgency,” he said. “Teams step up in March, they want to put a stamp on their season, and this is the time to do it. Nobody cares what you did in November and December.”[email protected]
