The last time Northwestern beat a ranked team, Veronica Burton — the four-year starting point guard who now plays in the WNBA — was still in its starting lineup.
On that day in February of 2022, a gritty NU squad overcame No. 4 Michigan 71-69 in a double-overtime game at the tail end of an era defined by a Burton-led, high-pressing “Blizzard” defense.
Thursday’s game didn’t, ultimately, spell an end to the three-year-long hoodoo against opponents in the Top 25.
Yet, in an 85-79 loss to No. 21 Maryland, the Wildcats (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten) fell just short of recovering from a 21-point deficit and briefly embodied the spirit of full-court pressing that brought coach Joe McKeown’s previous NU teams to unprecedented heights.
“We used to be a great pressing team at Northwestern,” McKeown said postgame. “We need to get back to that point.”
With the Terrapins (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) leading 72-62 under the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter, NU’s defense sprung to life.
Senior guard Melannie Daley forced a steal high up the court, but she missed the ensuing fastbreak layup. When Maryland grabbed the defensive rebound, junior guard Caroline Lau immediately snatched the ball back and handed Daley a second chance at the rim. This time, she capitalized on the opportunity.
Sophomore guard Casey Harter then pounced on another errant Maryland pass, forcing NU’s third steal in 20 seconds and hitting a jumper of her own to slash the deficit to six points.
After each team made a two-point basket on its next possession, Daley, Harter and graduate student forward Taylor Williams continued pressing high, blitzing each pass and looking to trap Maryland’s ball-handlers. The move paid off, as Daley seized another steal and cashed in herself. The lead was down to 74-70 with 3:42 remaining.
“We were getting in the passing lanes, getting our hands on it and anticipating very well,” Williams said. “We were just playing with a high sense of desperation, and it was working.”
In the end, Daley’s second bucket off a turnover in the ’Cats’ prolific defensive stretch proved to be the high-water mark of their comeback.
The Terrapins found a way to break through the ferocious NU press and convert crucial baskets, while Williams left two free throws on the table in the final three minutes.
Free-throw profligacy has been a vulnerability for NU all season, and that trend continued Thursday. The ’Cats got to the charity stripe nine more times than Maryland but made just two more free throws, shooting 68.6%.
“I’m disappointed that we can’t capitalize. It’s hurt us, and it’s probably cost us a couple games,” McKeown said of the team’s free-throw struggles. “It’s been our Achilles (heel) all year.”
Senior forward Caileigh Walsh nailed a three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to cut the lead to five points and prevent NU from going an entire game without a made three for the first time since 2017.
As the clock ran out, Maryland exited Welsh-Ryan Arena with a six-point victory that finished in far more dramatic fashion than the opening three quarters had promised.
In the first half, the story of the game was NU’s failure to take care of the ball.
McKeown’s squad accumulated nine turnovers by the end of the first quarter, five of which were committed by Williams. At halftime, the turnover count was up to 16, higher than the team’s total in each of its four previous games.
“We were allowing Maryland to speed us up,” Williams said. “The past few games we’ve kept our poise. I think we got a little shook in that second quarter.”
After a first quarter in which the ’Cats largely kept pace with their ranked foes, UMD pulled away with the help of a 15-4 run early in the second period and headed to the intermission leading 48-30.
Just when the ’Cats looked down and out trailing by 21 points early in the third quarter, they burst back to life. NU went on an 11-0 run to cut Maryland’s lead to 10, kickstarted by Walsh scoring six consecutive points.
Harter, Williams, Lau and junior forward Grace Sullivan all got to the free-throw line in the opening stages of the fourth quarter, setting the stage for the team’s climactic defensive swarm.
But, as the ’Cats fell just short of their first ranked win in over three years, they were left rueing the costly mistakes that put them in desperation mode late on.
“As much heart as we have, as much talent as we have, we need to start out the games and finish games for 40 minutes with that heart,” Daley said. “We were close in the second half, but we needed to start the game like that.”
Email: elikronenberg2027@u.northwestern.edu
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