Women’s Basketball

Several of Northwestern’s 13 non-conference games were competitive and against quality opponents. Thursday’s was not.

Instead, the Wildcats (11-2) cruised past UT Martin (3-10) 82-59 in a weekday matinee at Welsh-Ryan Arena, closing the non-league slate on a high note after Monday’s loss at Gonzaga.

Senior forward Nia Coffey led NU with 20 points and 12 rebounds — her 61st straight game with double-figure points and eighth double-double of the year — and senior guard Christen Inman added 14 points. Fellow senior guard Ashley Deary compiled 9 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and seven steals.

“We got our transition game going, and we did a really good job I thought of defending when we had to, (in the) first quarter, third quarter,” coach Joe McKeown said on WNUR. “We made runs, (but) we have to be a little more consistent on defense.”

The Cats established their offense with 29 points in the first quarter and coasted the rest of the way. NU shot a respectable 47 percent from the field and had no trouble on the boards, out-rebounding an undersized Skyhawks team 44-33.

In many ways, the easy win was a formality. The Cats are undefeated at home this year and have handled similar opponents with ease. UT Martin, meanwhile, gave up 100 points to DePaul on Tuesday and entered the game 1-7 on the road.

“Going into the Big Ten 11-2, we played a really good schedule, traveled all over the country,” McKeown said. “We’ll enjoy Christmas and then get ready for what should be a great league to play in this year.”

NU’s attention now shifts to Big Ten play, which begins Wednesday at Nebraska. The 4-8 Cornhuskers are unlikely to challenge the Cats, but NU might face a test against Purdue on New Years’ Eve in its conference home opener. The Boilermakers have struggled this year and lost at home to IUPUI on Wednesday, but beat the Cats 86-71 in Evanston last January.

If they can avoid a collapse similar to last year’s 4-14 conference showing, the Cats are well-positioned to contend for a NCAA Tournament bid. Thus far, NU has picked up solid wins against Virginia and then-No. 16 Florida, though the Gators have struggled as of late. In Big Ten play, the Cats host fellow tournament contenders Indiana and Michigan State and have an opportunity to score a big win against No. 12 Ohio State on Jan. 3.

The Cats’ star senior trio of Coffey, Inman and Deary has impressed through the non-conference schedule, combining to average 40.2 points and 16.6 rebounds per game. Junior guard Lydia Rohde and junior center Oceana Hamilton have been serviceable starters, and senior forward Lauren Douglas has been a scoring spark off the bench after missing all of last season due to injury.

Thanks to the team’s balanced lineup and solid non-conference performance, McKeown believes NU is ready to tackle its conference slate.

“We feel pretty good going into the Big Ten,” he said. “You got to play to your strengths, play with great confidence. That’s going to be our message coming back from Christmas.”

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @ckpaxton