Rapid Reaction: Arkansas 57, Northwestern 55
Nia Coffey hoists up a shot. The sophomore forward missed a potential go-ahead jumper in the final seconds and followed it up with a turnover that essentially sealed Northwestern’s defeat on Friday.
March 20, 2015
Women’s Basketball
The Wildcats played strong for most of the game, but a bad start and bad finish doomed them.
Seven-seeded Northwestern (23-9, 12-6 Big Ten) saw its season end at the hands of 10-seeded Arkansas (18-13, 6-10 SEC) in a 57-55 loss on Friday in Waco, Texas.
The Cats started off rusty and possibly nervous as they allowed the Razorbacks to jump ahead, 9-2. NU responded with a 9-0 run, and the game would stay close for the rest of the first half.
The Cats were carried by senior center Alex Cohen and sophomore guard Ashley Deary in the game’s opening 20 minutes.
It was Cohen who picked up 7 points early in the half, and then Deary at the end. Deary led the team with 8 points and four rebounds at the break, and one huge fast break layup off a steal, which tied things up at 23 right before intermission.
Following the break, it looked like a brand new NU. The Cats went on a 6-0 run right out the break to take a lead. Deary, a Texas native, continued to show out for the fans in her home state in the second half. NU would climb ahead by as much as 12, but Arkansas would not go away.
The Razorbacks went on a 16-4 run to tie the game with 1:20 left.
After a missed shot by Cohen, Arkansas would make one-of-two free throws with 30.5 seconds left, but after missing the second shot, the Razorbacks collected the offensive board.
Arkansas would miss again, but forced an NU turnover to regain possession. The Razorbacks would miss two more free throws, and left the door open for the Cats.
Sophomore forward Nia Coffey took the rebound and went down court, but missed her shot. She corralled the rebound, but then turned the ball over with 3 seconds remaining. Arkansas would make one more free throw to increase its lead to two, and a heave by sophomore guard Christen Inman would come up short.
It was a disappointing end to an historic season for the Cats. The big difference came on the offensive boards, where Arkansas outshined NU 16-6.
The Razorbacks also has just 10 turnovers to NU’s 19.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @KhadriceRollins
