Off to a 2-0 start and coming off a big win against perennial power LSU, Northwestern will hit the road on Thursday for the first time this season before returning home on Sunday to face Chicago State.
Thursday’s game against Western Kentucky (0-1) will be in “one of the tougher environments we will play in this season,” coach Joe McKeown said. The Lady Toppers were 11-4 at home last season, while the Wildcats were just 5-8 on the road.
“I thought we actually played pretty well on the road,” McKeown said. “We just need to take our experiences from last year and take it to the road this season. On the road you need a certain mental toughness.”
That attitude may have been on display Sunday against LSU. McKeown praised the “heart and spirit” of the team when the Tigers made the game tight.
“I liked that after they tied the game, we were able to respond,” he said.
Western Kentucky is coming off a 71-55 road loss to Louisiana Tech on Tuesday and returns only one starter from last year’s Women’s National Invitation Tournament team, guard and leading scorer Amy McNear. McNear did not play in the team’s opening game but averaged 11.3 points per game last season.
In their loss to Louisiana Tech, the Lady Toppers had four players in double figures and got 21 points from their bench.
An interesting matchup will be inside the paint, where Western Kentucky scored 32 of their 55 points. However, the Lady Toppers lack the size inside that NU possesses with sophomore forward Kendall Hackney and senior center Amy Jaeschke, who stand at 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-5 respectively.
On Sunday, NU will be heavy favorites against Chicago State (0-2). The Cougars return three starters from last year’s team, including forward and leading scorer Courtney Waldon.
Chicago State won’t have the same size concerns as Western Kentucky as the Cougars possess two 6-foot-4 centers in Caila Desroches and Elana Wroten. Despite the increased size under the basket, Jaeschke is not concerned.
“Defensively it will give us a different look,” she said. “Between me and Kendall in the post, we are good enough that it shouldn’t be an issue. Offensively, I go against 6-foot-7 in practice so I am sure 6-foot-4 won’t be an issue.”
Unlike many centers, Jaeschke’s presence in the middle hasn’t hampered her shot or time on the court. She hit 75 percent of her free throws and did not foul out of a game last season.
“I think I’ve always been in a position to log lots of minutes,” she said. “Early in my freshman year I learned how to stay out of foul trouble.”
The Cats understand although they have won both of their games thus far, there are still a lot of things to work on, junior forward Brittany Orban said.
“I feel as though there aren’t as much negatives but improvement points,” Orban said.
McKeown pointed to more specific goals that could use some work.
“This time of year, as a coach, you are always nitpicking,” he said. “I think we had a couple of defensive breakdowns, and we were not shooting as well as I think we were capable of.”
