Early on, it looked as though Northwestern was heading for a repeat of its last game against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes (16-17, 6-11 Big Ten) jumped out to an early lead, and although the Wildcats (15-15, 5-12) fought back to force an exciting finish, they ultimately fell, 86-77, in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.

“Just a hard-fought, back-and-forth game,” coach Joe McKeown said. “The last two minutes, they made a couple extra plays, and that was the difference.”

Freshman forward Nia Coffey led the way for NU. The team’s leading scorer has had her ups and downs this season but showed up when it counted most with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.

Guard Maggie Lyon was also a key contributor. The sophomore struggled with her outside shot, going just 3-for-12 from beyond the arc but showed off her physicality inside, pulling down five rebounds and going a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line to reach her team-high total of 23 points.

Lyon was vital in sparking a 16-0 run for the Cats to end the first half.

“Especially when we’re coming from behind, we’re trying to push,” she said. “I felt like defensively we were doing a good job, we were grabbing rebounds and we were executing our game plan.”

While the youth movement of Coffey and freshman guards Christen Inman and Ashley Deary has been the story for much of the season, NU leaned heavily on a veteran presence, junior guard Karly Roser, for most of this game.

Roser missed the first two-thirds of the season with an injury and played only sparingly during the remainder of the regular season.

“I’ve just been trying to contribute in any way possible,” Roser said. “Whether that be on the offensive end or the defensive end, whatever my team needs me to do. Today I thought that, by attacking, I could lead the front and other people would follow.”

It was Roser, not Deary, who led the offense, logging 28 minutes and helping her team with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.

“Deary was sick,” McKeown explained after the game. “But Karly played extremely well today, probably the best game she’s played since coming back.”

Defensively, Ohio State guard Ameryst Alston was too much to handle for NU. She dominated the Cats with a game-high 30 points and was lethal from long range, hitting four of her nine 3-point attempts.

Alston’s effort was part of a Buckeyes barrage from beyond the arc.

“I didn’t know they were going to make 11 3s,” McKeown said. “They make four or five a game, and today they just shot the ball really well. … They rebounded their misses late in the game, and that was the difference.”

While the NCAA Tournament is now certainly out of the question for NU, the team’s postseason prognosis remains in flux. The Cats will just have to wait until March 17 for the field of the NIT to be announced.

Unfortunately for the Cats, the defeat may be their last game of a season filled with highs and lows. McKeown, usually optimistic, seemed more reflective than anything after the game.

“I’m proud of our team,” he said. “I’m proud of our seniors, their leadership and what they’ve done. … They’ve helped turn around Northwestern into a prominent women’s basketball program.”

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