With about 6:35 left in the game, Sydney Wood drove baseline and kicked it to Veronica Burton, waiting deep on the left wing. Burton hit the three, her fourth of the night, ran back on defense high-fiving and smiling, and seconds later, got in the way of a UC-Santa Barbara pass and recorded her fifth steal of the afternoon: A good representation of today’s game and a good look at what’s to come the rest of the season.

Although Burton shined for in Northwestern (2-0) in a 72-46 win against UCSB (1-1), scoring 20 points, doling out 7 assists, and bringing in 5 steals, Courtney Shaw had an impressive showing as well.

Shaw finished the game with her second consecutive double-double with 12 points and a team high 11 rebounds. She had 11 points coupled with 12 rebounds against the University of Illinois at Chicago on Wednesday, already setting the team’s standard for rebounding on the season.

UCSB led for 1:47 in today’s game taking an early 4-3 lead in the first quarter. But after a Courtney Shaw layup at 6:42, putting the ‘Cats up 5-4, the Gauchos never saw the lead again. Northwestern reeled off 18 straight points and stiff-armed UCSB to a gap that they could not close.

Although the Gauchos outscored the Wildcats by one in the second quarter, the halftime lead was still 16, and in the second half, Northwestern outscored the visitors by 10.

Northwestern’s defense, holding a second consecutive team under 50 points, proved to be as lethal as predicted. Shaw, as a puzzle-piece fitting compliment to Burton, finished with five steals as well, the two of them contributing to 70% of the team’s takeaways on the day. First-year Mercy Ademusayo led the team with three blocks as well, a third of the team’s nine blocks.

With this routing, the Northwestern team has beaten teams by an average of 20 points (including the exhibition game against Parkside). Moving forward, the Northwestern women face two Chicago neighbors in Loyola (Wednesday) and DePaul (next Sunday).

Takeaways
1. Northwestern’s offense starts with defense
The ‘Cats scored 29 points (40% of its total) off of forced turnovers in this afternoon’s game. With a team that needs a number of players to contribute on the offensive end, coach Joe McKeown can seemingly always count on this group to be able to lock down on defense. Right now, with a turnover margin average of 14, it is important that the ‘Cats be able to hold onto that identity and keep transitioning it into scoring.

2. Is Burton Northwestern’s three-point threat?
Burton dropped four three-pointers in today’s competition. The team has had its way in and around the paint (30 points in the paint today), but in order for this team to handle themselves in the Big Ten, they need a threat from beyond the arc. Caileigh Walsh hit three today as well, but with Veronica Burton currently averaging three three-pointers per game, she might be the one called on to hit from deep throughout the season

3. Courtney Shaw double-doubles are necessary
A lot of the focus of this team is focused on Veronica Burton, but Courtney Shaw deserves credit for what she is contributing to this team: points in and around the paint and rebounds. Currently, she is second in the Big Ten with an average of 11.5 rebounds per game. Additionally, with only two players averaging double-digit points, her contributions on the offensive end are essential moving forward.

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