Women’s Basketball

Christen Inman swished a 3-pointer for Northwestern’s final points of the first half. Less than a minute later, she sunk a layup for the first bucket of the second half.

Those were just 2 of 10 made field goals for the junior guard, a rare consistent offensive presence in NU’s (15-15, 4-14 Big Ten) 76-67 loss to Nebraska (18-11, 9-9) on Sunday. Inman finished with 27 points as the only player for either team to reach 20.

Inman finished 10-of-19 from the field, a more efficient line than junior forward Nia Coffey, who scored 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting. The Texas native hit two of NU’s four 3-pointers on the day and went a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line to become the only Cats player unblemished from the line.

“I knew we were trying to claw back, so just to really be aggressive. Every time I got the ball that was just my mindset,” Inman said. “Take it to the basket to try to get fouled, try to do anything to get our team points.”

Inman did as much as she could to steal the win for NU. After Nebraska extended its lead to 15 and the crowd rose to its feet, Inman hit a layup, got fouled and completed the 3-point play. She also scored NU’s last 7 points, all in the last 90 seconds as the Cats tried to make a final run.

This was the second time this season Inman had a good game against the Cornhuskers. In NU’s 85-62 win in early January, Inman scored 25 points thanks in part to 5-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

Sunday’s showcase was unlike recent games for Inman, who had not scored more than 15 points in six straight games and reached 20 points just once in February. After averaging 15.6 points per game following the first Nebraska game, Inman’s per game average dropped to 14.3, her lowest since the season was just two games old.

Inman led the Cats in scoring for the fifth time this season but for the first time since the initial Nebraska meeting in early January. Her 27 points were one shy of tying her season high, set against Eastern Washington in late November.

“Christen Inman is capable of taking over games,” coach Joe McKeown said. “She’s quiet about it but just goes about her business.”

Inman’s performance almost made up for struggles of other NU players. Senior guard Maggie Lyon, who entered Sunday averaging 16.7 points per game, finished with 12, many of which came late in the fourth quarter.

Junior guard Ashley Deary scored just 6 points, far below her 12.2 per game average.

On Sunday it was Inman’s turn to put up big numbers in a losing effort. As the Cats limp into the Big Ten Tournament, McKeown said he was impressed how NU’s big four — Coffey, Deary, Inman and Lyon — have handled the conference season.

“They’ve logged a lot of minutes … so I’m just really proud of the way they’ve battled through the Big Ten this year,” McKeown said.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ckpaxton