Things went south in South Bend for Northwestern thanks to some stifling defense and a number of scoring shortages.
On Wednesday night, coach Joe McKeown’s squad fell to No. 16 Notre Dame in a 110-52 blowout. Sloppy ball control and lengthy scoring droughts contributed to the Wildcats’ 58-point demise at the hands of the Fighting Irish (2-1, 0-0 ACC).
NU (2-1, 0-0 Big Ten) suffered 10 droughts longer than one and a half minutes, enduring over 20 minutes of scoreless action. Three of these dry spells lasted over three minutes, with the longest coming in at a whopping 5:49.
The lack of scoring may have been manageable had the ’Cats not consistently lost custody of the rock. NU averaged 2.2 turnovers per scoring drought and recorded 25 total turnovers, 10 more than its Irish foes. Sophomore guard Caroline Lau contributed seven giveaways, including three consecutively in the first quarter.
To the punctual fans, it may have looked like the ’Cats were en route to a massive upset. NU started the game on an 8-0 run, holding the Fighting Irish scoreless for over two minutes.
Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey then called a regrouping timeout, which worked wonders. The Irish went on a 15-0 run, propelled by standout guard Hannah Hidalgo’s nine points.
Hidalgo, the reigning ACC Rookie of the Week, stuffed the stats sheet with 21 points, six boards, five assists and a game-high six steals. Before heading to the locker room with an apparent leg injury, guard Sonia Citron also contributed an efficient 23 points on 64% shooting.
For the Wildcats, junior guards Hailey Weaver and Melannie Daley each supplied 11 points and provided the visitors’ only double-digit scoring boosts of the night.
From then on, the ’Cats were outscored 95-44, with an average point differential per quarter of 14.5. NU’s issues were exacerbated by senior forward Paige Mott’s early ousting at the end of the third quarter. When Mott fouled out, NU lost the nation’s rebounding leader through the first two games of the season and proceeded to get outrebounded 17-6 the remainder of the game.
The ’Cats have a chance to get back on the wagon against Southeast Missouri State on Sunday.
Twitter: @poojakantemneni
Email: [email protected]
Related Stories:
— Rapid Recap: No. 16 Notre Dame 110, Northwestern 52
— Women’s Basketball: Northwestern defeats Omaha, McKeown breaks program’s wins record
