North by Northwestern

Northwestern's senior captains Ashley Deary, Christen Inman and Nia Coffey are nearly inseparable on and off the court. As incoming freshmen in 2013, the trio entered with immediate buzz as one of the highest-profiled recruiting classes in Northwestern women’s basketball history. After a solid 18-16 record in that first season, Deary, Inman and Coffey led the Wildcats to a 23-9 record and a NCAA Tournament appearance during their sophomore year.

In their junior year, even though the Wildcats started 11-1 and reached as high as 12 in the AP poll, they finished with a disappointing 18-17 record, including a first round WNIT loss to the University of San Diego. Now, the three are staring into a senior season that could lead to a positive, lasting legacy, without leaving Wildcat fans pondering what could have been the golden years of the program.

“We’ve been together, like literally, since our official visit,” said Deary, in regards to Inman and Coffey. “We can be very honest with each other, and it’s nice to have somebody on the same level that can kind of critique me and give me criticism, and help me to get better from a basketball standpoint and a leadership standpoint.”

The chemistry and response to inner-criticism between the three has shown up on the court. The “Coffey, Deary, Inman era” has reeled in a record of 59-42. In context, the the combined number of wins for the three seasons prior to their arrival was 49-45.

“Since freshman year, we have been playing together forever, so I always know what they are going to do,” said Coffey of Deary and Inman. “If I throw [the ball] into the bleachers, I know that Christen is going to catch it … I can make those decisions based off of their tendencies, and that really helps my game, and I know that if I mess up, they are going to have my back.”

The balance in skills between the three has ultimately fueled their synergy as unit. Deary, the reigning B1G Defensive Player of the Year, not only provides the defensive spark – as evident by her 141 steals a year ago – but she also operates as the team’s floor general on offense. On the wing, Inman’s slashing ability opens up a plethora of drives and open jump shots for teammates. Then, to top it all off, Coffey is the ultimate matchup-nightmare for the opposition. At 6-foot-1, Coffey can easily blow by an opponent’s tallest players, or she can demolish small players with her arsenal of post moves.

“I think we play off each other [well,]” said Inman. “We have different strengths that we can all utilize for the common goal.”.

When it comes to scoring, the senior trio can score, score, score, no matter what. In their careers, Coffey, Inman and Deary have all surpassed 1,000 career points, with 1,706, 1,151 and 1,015 respectively. On a team that averaged 74.6 points per game a year ago, the trio of Deary, Inman and Coffey averaged 47.2 of those points per game, with Coffey leading the team in scoring, averaging 20.3 points per game. Now, with four new incoming freshmen and losing starter Maggie Lyon to graduation, the trio will be called upon to deliver even more so.

Beyond the stat sheet, the trio are the emotional leaders of the 2016-2017 Wildcats. Deary, in her first year as captain, feels ready to push herself even further to ensure that the team meets its expectations.

“It’s an honor for [my teammates] to choose me,” said Deary. “I have been here for the past three years, and to know that I have teammates that believe in me and coaches that believe in me, it kind of makes me want to step up to the plate and perform and lead in ways that I haven’t before.”

Since the team’s trip to Europe this summer, head coach Joe McKeown said that he noticed the increased leadership roles and aggression from his senior class.

“[The seniors] don’t want their legacies to be that they played in just one NCAA Tournament,” said McKeown. “They understand the bar, the level [of play] … The Tournament is a special thing and you can’t take it for granted.”

Even with the recent successes of the basketball program, it’s quite evident that there is still a large chip on the shoulder of the senior captains.

“We definitely have plans to get back to the NCAA Tournament,” said Deary. “We know that we underperformed last year, and we know we underperformed two years ago when we lost in the first round [of the NCAA Tournament] … We are all eager and hungry to get back there and do well.”