Women’s Basketball

Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday for a highly anticipated rematch against Big Ten rival Illinois.

When the two teams met in January, the Wildcats (16-6, 6-5 Big Ten) walked away with a clutch 68-67 victory. Sunday’s game could be just as close, as six of the last eight contests between the Cats and the Fighting Illini (12-11, 3-8) have been decided by a margin of 4 points or fewer.

After losing a couple of tight games in late January, NU hit its stride again, earning decisive wins over conference opponents Minnesota and Indiana last week.

Sunday’s matchup will be a battle of the defenses. Illinois and NU are the top two teams in turnover margin in the Big Ten, with the Fighting Illini edging out the Cats for the top spot 5.39 to 5.18.

Deep-ball specialists junior Maggie Lyon and senior Alex Cohen, both hovering at 43 percent from beyond the arc, will have to be particularly evasive Sunday. Illinois sits first in the Big Ten in 3-point field goal defense.

In the last contest between the two teams, NU hit just over 30 percent from long range, going 7-of-22 against an aggressive Illinois defense. The Cats will have to do some 3-point defending of their own, however. NU allowed the Fighting Illini 45 percent shooting from 3-point range in January, and the Cats sit eighth in the conference in 3-point defense.

Illinois will arrive in Evanston on Sunday with key players Ivory Crawford and Chatrice White both averaging more than 14 points per game in conference play.

Rebounds will be a big focus for NU come Sunday. The Cats have struggled at times this season with grabbing balls off the board. In January, Illinois out-rebounded the Cats 39-33. For the season, NU averages 38 boards a game while allowing their opponents to grab just over 40. In a contest predicted to be so close, rebounding will be crucial.

By this point in the season, the Cats have proven themselves fully capable of being an offensive powerhouse, defeating other teams by an average margin of about 12 points. NU’s 99-point performance against Iowa, led by sophomore Nia Coffey with 35 points, was an exquisite display of offensive balance. The Cats will need to push to find their offensive footing in the face of the same aggressive defense they confronted in January.

Statistics aside, the intangibles of NU’s play will become most important on Sunday. After rediscovering team cohesion recently, tenacity, passion and effort will be critical in the heated matchup.

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Twitter: @clairechansen