On the heels of four consecutive defeats, Northwestern traveled to the east coast to open Big Ten play against Maryland Sunday.
After falling into a 14-2 deficit in the opening minutes of its clash against Georgetown, coach Joe McKeown and senior forward Jasmine McWilliams both emphasized that the Wildcats (3-6, 0-1 Big Ten) needed to be “ready to play” against the Terrapins (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten). McWilliams also harped on the self-inflicted wounds NU needed to remedy ahead of its clash with Maryland.
Despite coughing up the ball 11 times in the first half, McKeown and the ‘Cats remained in lockstep with the Terrapins early. A second-chance layup from junior guard Melannie Daley tied the game at 10-10 at the 3:15 mark in the first frame, but Maryland would close the quarter on a 12-4 run.
A step-back triple from freshman guard Casey Harter, NU’s first 3-pointer of the game, capped off a 7-0 run and knotted the game at 27-27 with around three minutes remaining in the second quarter. A three-point play from junior guard Haley Weaver and another 3-pointer from Harter tied the game at 33-33 just seconds before halftime, but Terrapin guard Shyanne Sellers’ buzzer-beating triple handed the hosts a 36-33 lead at the intermission.
Out of halftime, Maryland’s 8-0 scoring run precipitated a cataclysmic third quarter for the ‘Cats. NU connected on just 3-of-16 shots and missed all six of its attempts from beyond the arc. The Terrapins, meanwhile, poured in 20 third quarter points to all but put the game to rest, rolling to a 13-point victory.
Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game.
1. Daley, Weaver rebound from Georgetown defeat
McKeown’s pair of junior guards are two of NU’s top scorers this season — Weaver is averaging a team-high 12.9 points per game, while Daley is pouring in 11.9 points per contest. Still, the duo struggled against the Hoyas, mustering a combined 10 points on 3-of-16 shooting.
Facing the Terrapins, the backcourt duo offered a much-needed offensive spark. The pair totaled 17 of the visitors’ 33 first-half points on an efficient 7-of-11 clip.
As the offense sputtered in the third quarter, back-to-back mid-range buckets from Daley broke a three-minute ‘Cats scoring drought. Daley finished the contest with a team-high 14 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
2. Harter gets first career start, Walsh returns to starting five
Freshman guard Casey Harter, who has featured for 25 or more minutes in NU’s last four games, earned the first start of her young collegiate career Sunday. The Pennsylvania native entered the contest averaging nine points over the four-game stretch.
After going scoreless in the game’s opening 10 minutes, Harter connected on a pair of 3-pointers deep in the second frame and led the ‘Cats with four boards at the intermission. She finished the game with 10 points, five rebounds and an assist.
Junior forward Caileigh Walsh, who tallied a team-high 13 points off the bench against Georgetown, was thrust back into the starting lineup ahead of NU’s conference opener. Attracting the attention of multiple white jerseys on every post touch, Walsh notched eight points — all in the first half — and four boards against the Terrapins.
3. NU’s turnover problems realized once again
Entering Sunday’s matinee, the ‘Cats were averaging the fourth-most turnovers (17.3) in the Big Ten. In its streak of four losses, NU had eclipsed 10 or more turnovers in each contest, including 14 or more in defeats to then-No. 13 Florida State, Loyola-Chicago and Georgetown.
The team’s struggles with ball security plagued the ‘Cats once again. Maryland’s full-court, 1-2-2 press provided a myriad of problems for McKeown’s backcourt as the Terrapins generated 23 points off of NU’s 19 turnovers.
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