Fresh off a competitive loss to Penn State, Northwestern headed east for a Sunday showdown against Indiana, aiming to break a three-game losing streak.
The Wildcats began the game with a turnover on the first possession, setting the tone for what would become their sixth 30-plus point loss of the season.
At the first quarter’s close, NU had an equal number of points and turnovers. Although junior guard Melannie Daley made both her shots from the charity stripe in the final seconds, the ‘Cats entered the second period trailing by 19 points.
Entering halftime with a slight momentum shift, NU launched a 6-0 scoring run in the final 90 seconds, narrowing the Indiana lead from 32 points to 26.
By the end of the third quarter, the ‘Cats trailed by 45 points, solidifying a loss that had become predictable in the opening minutes of the contest.
With the loss, NU now stands alone in second to last place in the Big Ten, while the Hoosiers (16-2, 8-1 Big Ten) are tied for first with Iowa.
Here are three takeaways from NU’s loss to Indiana
Takeaways
1. The ‘Cats can’t keep up offensively
NU’s 41% shooting on a 22-of-54 clip, couldn’t compare to the Hoosiers, who sport the best field goal percentage in the Big Ten.
After 15 minutes of play, the Hoosiers had already amassed over forty points, while NU struggled to reach double digits, taking 13 minutes to breach that threshold.
The Hoosiers’ tight defense inside the paint posed challenges for the ‘Cats early on. Junior forward Caileigh Walsh struggled to find a path inside, attempting only five shots in the first half. Walsh leads the team in scoring for the season, but fell short of her average of 13.1 points per game in Sunday’s contest.
The ‘Cats converted only 6 of their 13 attempted layups, underscoring Indiana’s success in crowding the basket.
Meanwhile, the Hoosiers scored 50 points off layups and were spearheaded in scoring by graduate student forward Mackenzie Holmes, a three-time All-American, who notched 27 points.
2. Melannie Daley’s impressive performance isn’t enough to make a dent
In the opening 20 minutes, Melannie Daley tallied half of NU’s point total.
In last week’s matchup against Penn State, Daley got in early foul trouble. Despite only playing for 16 minutes, she still managed to score 12 points.
Daley cleaned things up defensively against the Hoosiers, committing zero fouls and tallying 16 points on a 6-of-11 clip. However, Daley’s standout showing was not enough to make a difference in Indiana’s dominant offensive display.
3. NU returns home for sold out Iowa matchup
Following their fourth consecutive loss, the road does not relent for NU.
The ‘Cats are set to return home for a historic contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday, facing the reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark and No. 5 Iowa. It marks the first-ever sold-out women’s basketball matchup at the arena.
The Hawkeyes secured a bounceback victory against Nebraska on Saturday, recovering from their upset loss to No. 12 Ohio State last week.
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Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
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— Women’s Basketball: Northwestern falls to Penn State, extends losing streak to three
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