The Wildcats’ basketball season began Friday night, and the Women’s team didn’t disappoint. With a 66-37 home victory over Dartmouth, the Wildcats proved they could play with a total team effort. They continue their homestand on Sunday, when they face off against SEC powerhouse, LSU. Catch up on what you missed from Friday’s game before Sunday’s 2 p.m. tip off:
Stat of the Game: 41 rebounds
The dominance of this game came down to the Wildcats’ ability to control the possession of the basketball. With 41 total rebounds, 32 of which were defensive, the outmatched Dartmouth team did not get many second chances after missed shots. Jaeschke led the ‘Cats with 10 total rebounds. Her 6’ 5’’ frame was no match for the severely undersized Dartmouth squad. She was able to control all activity under the rim, allowing Northwestern to go on a run eventually leading to the victory.
“We emphasized rebounds in practice this week,” Jaeschke said. “It definitely prevented our opponents from getting second chances.”
Expect to see many more high rebounding games from the ‘Cats, seeing as their size and effort gives them a major advantage.
Hero of the game: Amy Jaeschke
Coming off last season All-Big Ten honors, Jaeschke failed to disappoint in her season opener. She led the team in both points (20) and rebounds (10), giving her a double-double to start off the season.
Her dominance under the board, both offensively and defensively, kept Dartmouth stumped and looking for outside shots. Although she only had one block this game compared with a game average of 3.2 last year, Jaeschke’s imposing size terrorized play inside the paint.
With a 100 percent record of double-doubles per game this season, she promises to get “at least one every game, just for you.”
Room for improvement: turnovers
The Cat’s played a solid game in the blowout against Dartmouth. However, there seemed to be a case of early season “jitters,” as head coach Mckeown called it. Almost every statistic was lopsided in this game besides turnovers. Northwestern had 17 compared to Dartmouth’s 21, due largely to a shaky passing game especially on fast breaks. The ‘Cats wasted a few opportunities on poor pass decisions leading to turnovers.
“We have a really unselfish group but sometimes being unselfish can be selfish,” McKeown said.
Looking forward to their game against a strong LSU, the ‘Cats need to sharpen their passing and keep turnovers to a minimum.