When Northwestern sophomore guard Tailor Jones hit a late 3-pointer to pull within one point of Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, it appeared the Wildcats were poised to break their recent slide. Instead, it was the Badgers who seized the moment, riding a 13-2 run to a 62-50 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
“Their brand of basketball is they’ll grind it out half court, a lot of pushing and shoving,” coach Joe McKeown said. “We didn’t do a very good job of handling that in the last four or five minutes of the game, and that was the difference. They hit shots when they had to.”
While Wisconsin hit key shots, NU (14-8, 3-6 Big Ten) was ice-cold in the game’s final minutes. After Jones knocked down her 3-pointer, the Cats missed six straight shots. A layup by senior guard Meshia Reed was followed by three more missed shots.
“When it comes down to the line, we have to execute every play,” senior center Amy Jaeschke said, before focusing on her and Reed. “As seniors and captains on this team, we need to step up and lead everyone else to those wins.”
Instead, no one was able to step up for the Cats as they lost their grip on both the ball and the game. The Cats ended the day with 19 turnovers, including five giveaways in the final ten minutes of the match.
“It is what it is,” McKeown said. “We don’t have four Magic Johnsons out there or Steve Nashes who can just go by you off the dribble, so we have to rely on passing the ball.”
After shooting 45.5 percent from behind the arc in the game’s opening stanza, NU hit just 3-of-12 in the second half.
And when the Cats’ outside game started to dwindle, NU found itself surprisingly short-handed in the post. While Jaeschke had 11 rebounds, she scored just 10 points, her lowest total of the season.
Jaeschke also struggled to defend Wisconsin forward Lin Zastrow in the post. Zastrow finished with a game-high 17 points.
“Zastrow’s a great player,” Jaeschke said. “She puts the ball on the floor and dribbles by you a lot more than any post player you’re going to see in the Big Ten.”
Zastrow was one of three Badger starters who finished in double figures.
Wisconsin guard Taylor Wurtz dominated play early, recording 14 of the Badgers’ 28 first-half points.
In a nice halftime adjustment, NU held Wurtz scoreless for the remainder of the game, but Wisconsin (12-9, 7-2) had other weapons in its arsenal, specifically two seniors who have led the Badgers to multiple postseason appearances: guard Alyssa Karel and Zastrow.
The deadly duo combined to score 25 points in the game’s final 20 minutes, accounting for nearly three-fourths of Wisconsin’s second-half offensive output.
“They were able to get the ball inside a little bit late,” McKeown said. “Karel hit a couple of big shots off screens. We didn’t do a very good job.”
The Cats did get one piece of good news in the final minutes of the match when junior forward Brittany Orban returned to the court after hitting her head on the floor early in the second half.
“She’s a tough kid,” McKeown said. “She got cracked. Blood on the court.”
NU will need Orban to step up her play if the team wants to follow up on its earlier success this season. The junior combined for 21 points and 22 rebounds in NU’s victories over Ohio State and Illinois earlier this season.
Since then, Orban has recorded just 10 points and nine rebounds in four NU losses.
Jaeschke said her team can draw inspiration from the victors of Sunday’s contest.
“When we were out playing in a tournament at St. Mary’s, Wisconsin was in an 0-7 run,” Jaeschke said. “That just goes to show – right now they’re 7-2 in the Big Ten. Even though we just dropped four games, we can come back and win the next four.”
