PHILADELPHIA— Riding the momentum of an overtime win over UNLV on Wednesday and victories in five of its last six games, Northwestern travelled to Philadelphia for two games at the Hawk Classic and came away with a 1-1 split.
In their weekend opener against Charleston on Friday, the Wildcats (7-5, 0-1 Big Ten) mounted a late rally after trailing early, but NU couldn’t quite finish it off, falling 68-62. Despite a strong second-half effort, the ‘Cats came up short as the Cougars (9-1, 0-0 CAA) executed down the stretch to secure the win.
“We had so many chances in that game to take the lead and win the game and we didn’t complete that,” sophomore guard Casey Harter said. “We had to have more grit, more toughness.”
Coach Joe McKeown’s squad managed to score the first basket before Charleston responded with 10 unanswered points. As NU’s offense struggled throughout that stretch, they quickly found themselves down 12-2 with seemingly no answers as their opponents made quick work in transition.
Just when things looked most bleak, senior forward Caileigh Walsh brought a spark off the bench, scoring 14 of her total 20 points during the second quarter.
By intermission, NU had cut the deficit to just two points as a 10-2 run of its own helped bring them back into reasonable contention.
Out of the break, McKeown’s squad surged.
Graduate student forward Taylor Williams began the final 20 minutes with six quick points to help NU re-establish the lead for the first time since the game’s opening moments.
The ‘Cats then pushed their advantage to five at 38-33, but Charleston’ssophomore twin duo, Taylor and Taryn Barbot, took matters into their own hands, combined for 39 of their team’s 68 total points.
The game was tied 46-46 headed into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, NU briefly regained a 52-48 lead, but Charleston responded with an 8-0 run to take a four-point advantage. With two minutes to play, freshman guard Kyla Jones found Walsh at the rim and Harter tied the game at 60 apiece with a triple, but the Cougars responded with a layup and two free throws to pull ahead with a two-possession advantage. A turnover by Harter with 12 seconds left sealed the win for Charleston.
Walsh — who has worked her way back into the rotation following a preseason injury — led the way for NU Friday with 20 points and nine rebounds and Williams added 10 points and 11 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season.
“She was our leading scorer coming out of last year, scored her 1000th point a couple weeks ago,” McKeown said of Walsh. “We’re really getting her back to the end of last year, where she was playing just as well as any player in the Big Ten.”
Following the loss, NU faced Howard in a snowy Saturday morning matchup for third place in the multi-team event. After a few early shots rimmed out to open the contest, Lau drained a deep three-pointer — the team’s first field goal — two minutes into the game.
The first quarter saw slow starts for both teams, but NU found its offensive rhythm when Walsh entered the game, scoring a quick layup before Harter hit a three-pointer to give the ‘Cats a two-basket lead for the first time all day. By the end of the quarter, Walsh had seven points and NU led 19-15.
With 6:22 left to play in the half, NU had extended its lead to seven, after Harter made another shot from beyond the arc and freshman forward Tayla Thomas found the rim after an offensive board.
The ‘Cats maintained their lead deep into the second quarter, but Howard capitalized on late opportunities, sinking a three-pointer and converting an and-one layup in the final seconds before the buzzer sounded to take a 33-28 lead at the break.
After halftime, NU was unstoppable when it returned to the court, quickly amassing a nine-point lead with a 14-0 run. McKeown’s crew flourished in transition and two steals by Lau early third quarter further exacerbated Howard’s offensive struggles.
Then the momentum shifted.
Howard took advantage of the same ball security struggles that have long plagued the ‘Cats. By the end of the third flame, the NU lead deflated back to just one point.
Throughout the final 10 minutes, the lead teetered back and forth with neither squad firmly pulling away towards a clearcut victory.
The game was knotted up with two minutes to play when senior guard Melanie Daley nailed her signature mid-range shot to give NU a 65-63 lead.
A successful stint at the charity stripe allowed the Bisons to trim that NU advantage to one, but Daley responded with another floater to extend the ‘Cats’ lead to three.
When junior forward Grace Sullivan made a free throw of her own, the ‘Cats’ 68-66 win was all but shored up.
Though his team won their second contest of the weekend, McKeown recognized his team’s overarching need for improvements in the realm of rebounding and ball security.
In its victory over Howard, NU committed 20 turnovers and allowed 20 offensive rebounds.
“That’s been our Achilles in the nonconference,” McKeown said. “We just gotta take better care of the ball.”
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @AudreyPachuta
Related Stories:
— Women’s Basketball: Northwestern records largest win of season, taking down Cornell 67-54
