Northwestern faced No. 12 Iowa in its quarterfinal matchup of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday after splitting their regular season series with two close games. 

The Wildcats’ future postseason hopes depended on their performance at the tournament — as coach Joe McKeown said, “survive and advance.”

The matchup to watch was Iowa’s Caitlin Clark against senior guard Veronica Burton — 2022 Big Ten Player of the Year against 2022 and three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. If Burton and NU could control Iowa’s offense, the best in the conference, they had a serious chance of advancing to the semifinal.

But No. 7 seed NU (17-11, 8-8 Big Ten) ultimately fell 72-59 to the No. 2 seed Hawkeyes (20-7, 14-4) in Indianapolis. The Cats successfully contained Iowa throughout the first half, but their lackluster all-around performance in the third quarter proved to be too much for NU to recover from. Burton did everything she could, notching 25 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, but the squad’s Big Ten Tournament campaign ended in the quarterfinal.

Burton kicked off the game with a quick three and Iowa’s Monika Czinano quickly answered with her own layup. But the Cats successfully staved off the Hawkeye offense after that, allowing only two points in seven Iowa possessions. Combined with a rare efficiency from NU’s offense and a struggling Clark, the Cats maintained a scoring advantage throughout the first quarter. 

After struggling from beyond the arc in Thursday’s second round — they went 3-for-23 — NU found more success in Friday’s opening minutes. The Cats went 3-for-6 from three in the first quarter, helping them reach a 17-14 lead by the end of the first. 

Clark hit her first three to open Iowa’s scoring in the second, seemingly giving some life to the Hawkeyes. Iowa tied the game up halfway through the quarter, bringing the gold-heavy crowd to life. NU persisted and continued to produce, but Clark hit four threes in the quarter, something that’s hard for any team to combat.

The rest of the quarter was back-and-forth between the two stars: Burton steal, Burton jumper, Clark three, Clark steal, Burton steal, Burton layup. You get the idea. NU entered halftime with a one-point deficit at a score of 32-31. 

The second half kicked off with a long two from graduate guard Lauryn Satterwhite that again was immediately answered by a Czinano layup. Three productive Iowa minutes at the outset earned it a five-point lead and McKeown called timeout. Satterwhite broke up the Hawkeyes’ 8-0 scoring run with a three, but the momentum stayed with Iowa.

The Hawkeyes led by as much as 11 in the third quarter, coming alive in the period’s final minutes. After multiple untimely fouls and missed shots by the Cats, the game’s pace seemed to shift in Iowa’s favor. The Cats entered the fourth quarter at a 57-47 disadvantage. 

Iowa’s production in the paint continued. NU had been outscored 34-14 in the region through the end of the third quarter, a split that only grew in the fourth. The Cats started the quarter on the wrong end of a 9-2 run and six minutes without a field goal. 

Back-to-back three-pointers from junior guard Laya Hartman and Satterwhite brought the deficit back to single digits with just three minutes to play. But NU’s shots rarely fell after that and they lost the contest 72-59. 

Takeaways:

• Burton receives little offensive help in first half

Veronica Burton closed out the first half with 16 points — over half of the team’s total — and only two assists. She is ordinarily the team’s leading scorer, but also makes plays happen when her teammates get open looks. Iowa’s defense-controlled NU early, forcing Burton to take shots when she could. Satterwhite’s offensive spark in the second half shifted scoring away from Burton, but it was not enough support to lift the Cats over the Hawkeyes.

• Turnovers less prevalent than in previous meetings

The Cats forced 18 and 25 Hawkeye turnovers in their first two meetings, respectively. It’s how NU sparks life into their game — steal the ball, get a fast break and keep the momentum going. But Iowa took care of the ball, only turning it over 13 times. So for the Cats, a team that often relies on its defensive production to do much of the heavy lifting, standing toe-to-toe with the best offense in the conference — in the first half — was fairly impressive. 

• Lauryn Satterwhite shines in second half

Satterwhite had an especially successful second half in Thursday’s matchup, tallying 15 points after a scoreless first half. And the narrative repeated itself on Friday. Satterwhite had a scoreless first half, only to come out of the break with newfound confidence. The guard notched nine points, including two threes, in the third quarter alone. 

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Twitter: @mkeileen

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