Despite early shooting struggles, Northwestern women’s basketball (2-0, 0-0 BIG) pulled away late to defeat SIU Edwardsville (2-1, 0-0 OVC) 64-51.
Grace Sullivan’s dominance was the story of the game for the ‘Cats, scoring 25 points and grabbing six rebounds on 71% shooting from the field.
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In addition to Sullivan, Tate Lash had 11 points while Tayla Thomas scored nine points and 11 rebounds. Caroline Lau also tallied nine points.
The ‘Cats shot 41.8% from the field but won because of their suffocating defense. The SIUE Cougars shot 29% from the field and 28% from three. Northwestern had 17 assists and eight turnovers while SUIE had 12 and 10, respectively. The ‘Cats’ defense held SIUE star Lauren Miller, who had 25 points in her last game, to just 11 on the day as the Cougars’ offense spent all game looking for answers.
McKeown rolled out the same starting five as last game for the ‘Cats, and this continuity paid dividends from the jump. Sullivan won the tip to get the game underway, and it was all Northwestern early on. Caroline Lau knocked down a baseline jumper on the first possession of the game, and a hungry Northwestern defense took over from there. The Wildcats forced three Cougar turnovers in the opening four minutes of the game, including steals by Tayla Thomas and Tate Lash, which both led to transition buckets.
SIUE got on the board at the seven-minute mark via a three-ball from Kiyoko Proctor, tightening the game to 6-3 ‘Cats. However, they struggled to get anything else going offensively in the early stages of the game, as they couldn’t get any looks at the basket other than heavily contested threes. Slowly but surely, Northwestern extended its lead, and a Tate Lash fadeaway jumper with 5:34 to go in the first forced a Cougar timeout with the ‘Cats up 12-5.
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Coming out of the timeout, SIUE continued to struggle offensively, maintaining its game plan to launch threes. Meanwhile, Northwestern tried to establish the inside game with Sullivan and Thomas. The later stages of the first became a defensive slugfest as a Sullivan jumper from the top of the key with 2:31 to go was the last point scored in the period. NU led 15-6 after one, with Sullivan’s eight points leading the way.
The Cougars opened the second quarter with a three-pointer from Proctor, but Sullivan responded with yet another two-pointer. Both offenses began to settle in early in the second, as a Thomas three saw the ‘Cats lead 20-11 just 90 seconds into the period. Following this, however, was another offensive dry spell as a Lash jumper was the only bucket scored for the next three minutes.
SIUE’s Miller knocked down a basket from beyond the arc, cutting the Wildcats’ lead to 22-14 with 5:28 remaining in the second quarter, but the poor shooting display by both teams was a constant throughout the second. The following minutes saw a lot of whistle-blowing and even more missed free throws, the Wildcats up 23-15 with 2:28 remaining before half.
Despite her teammates’ struggles, Sullivan continued to dominate the paint, scoring her 11th and 12th points via a baby hook from just outside the restricted area with 1:51 left in the second. Two free throws from Sullivan and an SIUE layup represented the rest of the scoring in the half, and Northwestern led 27-17 at the break.
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The Cats’ man-to-man defense, switching on all screens that SIUE tried to set, gave their opponent fits all half and more than made up for their own struggles on the offensive end. Sullivan, who had 14 points and four rebounds, was the only NU player to find her groove, as the team shot 37.5% from the field in the first half (compared to the Cougars’ abysmal 19%). Free-throw shooting remained a concern for Northwestern, as it shot just 66.7% from the charity stripe. The differing game plans of the two coaches were shown throughout the half as the Cougars attempted 16 three-pointers, making three of them, while the ‘Cats shot just three, making one.
The second half started with (what else) a Sullivan mid-range jumper in a quarter that saw the Wildcats and Cougars trade blows early on. Miller poured in another three-ball for SIUE and Sullivan responded with an old-fashioned three-point play, putting the ‘Cats up 32-20. Coach McKeown seemingly wasn’t happy with NU’s defensive effort, however, as he called an early timeout with 7:53 remaining in the quarter and his team leading 32-22.
Northwestern upped its ball pressure after the timeout and a Cougar miss on one end led to a transition bucket for Thomas, absorbing a foul but still making the layup. Sullivan continued to operate in the low-post area, netting a fadeaway shot, and Lau resumed her attempts to push the pace.
With 6:03 in the third and the ‘Cats up 36-26, Lau grabbed a defensive rebound and lobbed a dime to Casey Harter, who seemingly had an open layup. Harter missed the layup, yet Lau was there to back her up and put the ball in the basket anyway, putting her team up 12 and forcing a Cougar timeout.
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The timeout provided no answers for Sullivan’s low-post game, though, as SIUE misses continued to lead to transition opportunities for the Wildcats. A Lau three with 2:47 remaining in the quarter pushed NU’s lead to 45-29, but the Cougars refused to go down without a fight. Ava Gugliuzza knocked one down from deep for SIUE with 1:49 left in the quarter, but NU’s paint persistence saw them up 51-35 at the end of the third. Sullivan scored 11 points in the period as McKeown decided to put the ball in her hands as much as possible.
Thomas opened the scoring in the final frame for Northwestern with a turnaround jumper from the free throw line as the ‘Cats tried to cruise their way to another victory. Lau led the way in the Wildcats’ closing effort with a steal, which led to a Thomas layup, and a floater over the outstretched reach of an SIUE defender. Northwestern led 57-39 with 6:23 remaining in the game when the Cougars decided to call another timeout to try and plan their comeback.
Yet, Lash converted an and-one with 4:50 remaining in the game, which was the finishing touch Northwestern needed as it went up 58-43. The ‘Cats drained the clock the rest of the way, coasting to a 64-51 victory over the Cougars.
Although the offense was ugly at times, NU relied on Sullivan and its gritty defense to grind out its second win of the season. The ‘Cats will play their third-straight home game against Maryland Eastern on November 14 at 6:30 P.M. C.T.
