Too busy to stay current with Northwestern's women's basketball over winter break? NBN has you covered.
Games
12/17: California 71, Northwestern 65
In a battle of 12 ties and 13 lead changes, the now-No. 7 Golden Bears found just enough offense to beat the Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The loss was Northwestern’s fourth in a row after a 7-0 start to the season.
Offensively, most of the damage was done inside the arc, as the teams shot a combined 2-of-19 from three-point range. After a cold start, the Golden Bears fought back and the back-and-forth battle continued until an and-one layup from Cal’s Gennifer Brandon put the visitors up 57-56 with 3:04 remaining. They were able to hang on to the lead for the remainder of the game.
Sophomore point guard Karly Roser led the ‘Cats with 16 points, while senior center Dannielle Diamant added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
12/22: Northwestern 73, Ole Miss 69
The Wildcats opened the New York Life Holiday Invitational with a victory to snap their 4-game losing streak. Senior forward Kendall Hackney led the way by pouring in 26 points on efficient 11-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Down 62-66 with 3:19 remaining, the ‘Cats went on a 7-0 run to take back the lead and seize the win. They were able to withstand the 10-of-21 three-point shooting of the Rebels by locking down the interior, holding Ole Miss to 34.3 percent shooting from the floor. The Wildcats protected the paint with eight blocks, led by three rejections from sophomore forward Alex Cohen.
Freshman forward Lauren Douglas chipped in 19 points, and Roser contributed 11 points and 10 assists.
12/23: Hofstra 63, Northwestern 54
Hofstra handed the ‘Cats a disappointing defeat in the final of the holiday Invitational. The Pride had just one win on the season before notching two straight victories over Ole Miss and Northwestern to claim the title. Hofstra was headed by 26 points and 14 rebounds from Tournament MVP Shante Evans.
Evans scored the first 11 points for the Pride, who sprinted out to a 27-13 lead. The ‘Cats fought back to tie it at 45 and again at 47, but Hofstra responded with a 10-0 run to secure the lead and the win.
Diamant led the Wildcats with 16 points and eight rebounds, but she struggled from the field, shooting just 5-of-16. Hackney (10 points) and Douglas (8 points) earned All-Tournament Team honors for their performances in the two games.
12/31: Northwestern 82, Chicago State 38
Northwestern returned to action after a brief Christmas break and didn’t show any symptoms of a post-holiday relapse, drubbing a 1-13 Chicago State team. The ‘Cats shot 45.5 percent from the floor while holding the Cougars to just 23.8 percent from the floor.
The Wildcats were boosted by the return of Maggie Lyon, who contributed 10 points and three steals after being sidelined by injury for five games prior. They jumped out in front by scoring the first 12 points of the contest, and they didn’t look back.
Roser dropped in 16 points to go with nine rebounds, but nine other players also scored for the balanced Wildcat attack.
1/3: Penn State 73, Northwestern 69
New Year's brought a new challenge, as Northwestern was thrust into Big Ten competition with an away battle against the No. 9 Nittany Lions. The Wildcats held the lead with 1:48 remaining, but two late layups and clutch free throw shooting iced the game for Penn State.
Penn State star Maggie Lucas shot just 5-of-16 from the field, but all five of those field goals were three-pointers, and she finished up with 24 points. Despite 28 turnovers, the Wildcats retained an early 13-5 lead for the vast majority of the game and nearly pulled off the upset.
Roser scored 16 points, and Hackney contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with 8:30 to go.
1/6: Indiana 68, Northwestern 64
The Wildcats dropped a hard-fought battle to the Hoosiers in Bloomington and fell to 0-2 in a Big Ten conference where road victories are hard to come by. Indiana forward Aulani Sinclair poured in 31 points, 14 of them coming from the free-throw line.
Northwestern erased a 31-21 deficit and fought back to take a 44-43 lead with 13:34 to go, but Sinclair went 12-of-13 from the line the rest of the way as the Hoosiers earned their first conference victory. Indiana out-rebounded Northwestern 42-31 on the day.
Hackney led four Wildcats in double figures with 18 points along with five rebounds.
Trends
Turnovers
In the Wildcats’ two victories over break, they had an average of 16 turnovers. However, in the four losses, they coughed up the ball 21.2 times per game. Their opponents were not forced into nearly as many miscues: in the six games combined, Northwestern’s turnover margin was -23. Roser, the point guard, averaged 5.2 over this stretch, although she cleaned it up by having none against Indiana.
Karly Roser
Despite some turnover issues, the sophomore point guard was a consistent scoring option over the six-game stretch. She scored in double figures each game, including a career high-tying 16 points three different times. Over the break, she averaged 14.2 points, 5.8 assists, 4 boards and 2 steals.
Diamant down low
The senior center’s offensive production has been up-and-down, but she has been a consistent force on the glass, averaging 9.5 rebounds over the last six games. Three of those were double-digit rebounding outputs, including 12 boards against both Cal and Ole Miss. She has also protected the paint with her shot-blocking abilities, averaging 2.2 rejections per contest over the break.
The Wildcats have been getting scoring from many different players. Even when Hackney or Diamant is struggling from the field, the ‘Cats are still in a position to win down the stretch. They need to cut down on turnovers, and they need someone to step up on the offensive end in late-game situations where they have tended to falter. The bulk of expectations will probably be put on Hackney, a senior leader with over 1,200 career points. She leads the team in scoring, three-point percentage and free-throw percentage. If this team is to still compete for a tournament berth, they won’t be able to do it without Kendall Hackney.