Northwestern failed to overcome a slew of turnovers despite a late rally en route to its 12th Big Ten loss, falling to No. 21 Maryland 85-79.
Four Wildcats (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten) finished in double digits: senior guard Melannie Daley led the way with 22 points, while graduate student forward Taylor Williams finished with 18, senior forward Caileigh Walsh had 15 and junior forward Grace Sullivan had 11. Williams also grabbed her 1,000th career rebound.
NU remained close throughout much of the first quarter, but the Terrapins (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) began pulling away late. After building a 22-15 lead at the end of the first quarter, Maryland continued its dominance into the second quarter, taking a 48-30 lead into halftime.
The ’Cats only attempted two three-pointers in the first half, missing both. They also shot a dismal 50% from the charity stripe on 12 attempts.
However, NU bounced back in the third quarter largely thanks to nine-point and six-point efforts from Williams and Walsh, respectively, to cut Maryland’s lead to 10. It continued its momentum into the fourth period, cutting a once-21-point lead to four points.
The Terrapins ultimately survived with the help of two NU missed free throws down the stretch.
After starting Big Ten play 0-10, Northwestern won two of its last three conference games. But Thursday, they returned to losing ways despite a resilient effort.
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s tilt:
1. Turnovers plague ’Cats early
The Wildcats turned the ball over nine times in the first quarter, five of which were committed by Williams.
At the 8:37 mark in the first quarter, guard Sarah Te-Biasu picked Caroline Lau’s pocket to give Maryland possession. At the 6:34 mark, Walsh turned the ball over in the backcourt to guard Saylor Poffenbarger, leading to Maryland’s eighth point.
Poffenbarger stole another pass at 4:37 and made a fastbreak layup to put the Terrapins ahead, 10-8.
Maryland’s early defensive momentum carried throughout the quarter as it opened a 22-15 lead in 10 minutes.
The Wildcats finished with 22 turnovers compared to the Terrapins’ 17.
2. ‘Mid-range’ Melannie Daley
Daley was a bright spot throughout the contest. The mid-range specialist mainly thrived from that spot, making 10 of 17 field goals en route to a 22-point night.
With 5:16 remaining in the third quarter, Daley sunk a contested mid-range jumper that bounced off the rim before finding the bottom of the net to continue an 11-0 run that cut the Terrapins lead to 10 points.
Daley — one of four Wildcats averaging double-digit points — accounted for nine of the ’Cats fourth-quarter points as the surged late.
3. Free throw struggles continue
The ’Cats — who rank last in the Big Ten with a 66% free throw percentage — resumed their charity stripe difficulties.
Coach Joe McKeown’s squad made 24 of its 35 free throws., a 68.6% mark.
These challenges were especially prominent in the first half, where NU made six of 12 attempts from the charity stripe. Graduate student Kyla Jones attempted the most free throws in the first 20 minutes, making two of four.
After the ’Cats had cut the lead to as little as four points, Williams missed two crucial free throws with under three minutes remaining to allow the Terrapins to close the game.
Email: kamrannia2027@u.northwestern.edu
X: @kamran_nia
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