Cats’ Corner: Your source for NU basketball

Sophomore guard Meshia Reed scored 18 points as Northwestern used a 10-2 run at the beginning of the second half to easily defeat Western Illinois 71-54 in the DoubleTree White Invitational at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.

Reed recovered from her poor performance against Arkansas in the Wildcats’ last game. Reed scored only three points and had seven turnovers in her last outing. The sophomore scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half and shot seven of 10 from the field.

She had help from sophomore center Amy Jaeschke, who added 16 points and eight boards, and junior guard Kristin Cartwright, who scored 14 and six boards.

NU (2-3) dominated defensively in the second half, holding Western Illinois to just 29.6 percent shooting. The Cats shot 62.5 percent as they outscored the Westerwinds 39-26 to gain some breathing room.

The Cats will play Missouri in the championship game of the DoubleTree White Inviational on Sunday.

Northwestern held a nine-point lead a halftime and looked like it would survive a second half rally on the road at Butler on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats clung tight to their lead, but Matt Howard had other ideas.

With about two minutes to play, Howard stole the ball at the top of the key from a Jeremy Nash pass and took it the length of the court for a layup that gave Butler the lead. It was his offensive rebound and putback from a missed 3-pointer by Gordon Hayward that gave the Bulldogs a three-point lead with less than a minute to play.

Junior guard Craig Moore, who tied a Big Ten single game record with nine 3-pointers Saturday against Brown, could not hit the tying mark in response. Butler hit free throws down the stretch and completed the comeback with a 57-53 win.

The Cats (3-1) took a nine-point lead thanks to a 60-plus percent shooting performance and a defense that was allowing the Bulldogs (4-0) to hit just 36 percent of their shots. Butler stayed in the game by making 12 of its 16 free throw attempts.

Like NU’s game at Brown on Saturday, the second half told a much different story than the first half. Only this time, the team could not hold on to the lead.

The Cats finished the game shooting 47.7 percent. The Bulldogs ended at 40 percent. NU ended up outrebounding Butler 28-22, but gave up nine offensive rebounds.

Sophomore guard Michael Thompson scored 12 points to lead NU. Moore and sophomore forward Ivan Peljusic added 11 points. Junior forward Kevin Coble only scored three points on one-of-four shooting.

Howard led Butler with 17 points and six rebounds. Hayward added 13 points and guard Willie Veasley had 10.

The Bulldogs shot 17 of 24 from the line, while the Cats only got to the line six times — making three of their attempts.

NU will play UC-Riverside on Monday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

By Adam Fusfeld

Starting his first game as Northwestern’s all-time 3-point leader, Craig Moore approached another record in Saturday’s 73-64 victory at Brown.

He hit eight shots from downtown in the first half and another one in the second half to tie the conference’s all-time mark for 3-pointers in a game with nine. Moore finished the game with 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting.

“It was the combination of just a really good offense,” Moore said. “I was on the receiving end of a lot of good passes; we ran some set plays for me after I started to get hot. I should shoot like that every other game or more.”

To read more, click here.

Northwestern has started the year undefeated thanks to its renewed commitment on the defensive end. Coach Bill Carmody has emphasized defensive drills in practice. After each win, the team assessed its defensive performance before even mentioning its renowned Princeton offense.

Though the Wildcats (2-0) have shot at a blistering 51 percent rate this season, the offense is still not where it needs to be.

“We’re probably at about 70 (percent),” senior guard Craig Moore said. “We’ve got so much to work on. I mean it’s great when we can win games and not play our best. I shot one for seven. We had a lot of miscues. We were turning the ball over in the first half, but we kept stretching the lead. And that’s nice when you have the talent, with the big men, to win games when it’s not your best night.”

To read more, click here.

By Danny Daly

It might not have been pretty, but Northwestern beat Houston Baptist 68-60 on Thursday night for its first victory of the season.

For the Wildcats, it was liberating to win one after starting the year with back-to-back tough losses.

“Coming out 0-2, you definitely want to get a win under your belt,” freshman forward Brittany Orban said. “It was sloppy and we all know we have a lot of things to work on. As Coach (Joe McKeown) told us in the locker room, there are harder practices to come and a lot more hustling to go.”

To read more, click here.

By Danny Daly

Few defeats are as painful as Northwestern’s 57-52 loss to Kansas State on Monday.

After dictating the pace of play and leading last year’s regular season Big 12 champions most of the way, NU broke down in the final four minutes and squandered a chance to notch a signature win less than a week into the season.

For a team that endured such a trying season a winter ago, it was especially hard to take.

“It hurts because we were so close,” said sophomore guard Meshia Reed, who finished the night with 14 points and three steals. “They’re a good team and we were right there, so that makes it a little worse.”

In a lot of ways, the players should be encouraged and excited to move forward, seeing how they are capable of causing trouble for an NCAA tournament team that returns four of its five starters. But even though the Kansas State game can be considered a moral victory of sorts, the harsh reality is that it still counts as a loss in the standings.

Three days after the emotionally charged Kansas State loss, the next challenge for the Cats is putting the disappointment behind them and trying to bounce back against Houston Baptist.

To read more, click here.

By Adam Fusfeld

Though Northwestern players exited the locker room and stepped onto the court for warmups between halves, for the second straight game, it was practically a formality.

The Wildcats (2-0) built an 18-point halftime lead on the strength of a defense that allowed 35 percent shooting in the first half and an efficient offense that shot 14-of-29 from the field. NU struggled at the beginning of the second half but held off Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for a 66-48 win.

“I think they were perfect games for us,” said coach Bill Carmody of the team’s first two games. “I thought this team was better than (Central) Arkansas, but I think our defense was pretty good and sort of took them out of it a little bit.”

To read more, click here.

Craig Moore hit only one three in Wednesday’s game. How did 3-point shooting affect the offense against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi? The Daily’s Matt Forman examines the 3-point shot from Wednesday’s game. Click here to read more.

A NU player set a record Wednesday night. But it is not just his name that goes into the record book. The Daily’s Philip Rossman-Reich mentions the forgotten names on the road to a school record. Click here to read more.

Northwestern’s lethargy on offense finally came back to bite them. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has closed a 22-point deficit to 10 points with about seven minutes to play.

The Wildcats managed to keep the Islanders from getting any closer and held on to win 66-48.

NU fell into the trap of taking quick shots and staying on the perimeter. The Islanders took advantage of turnovers too when the Cats drive inside. It honestly feels like NU and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi started playing pick-up basketball with players trying to get their own shots rather than work through the system.

The defense struggled to get stops as the offense has completely flatlined. After a timeout with about seven minutes left, energy-provider John Shurna was sent back into the game.

Shurna seems to be the only one who can create offense as the game gets uglier and uglier. But the Cats began to pull away again, taking a 16 point lead with 2:15 left. The Islanders just could not muster enough scoring to completely erase the deficit.

There is no let up on offense early in the second half as the Cats continue to get the ball deep into the post through their offense. The teams are going up and down as the lead hovers around 20. The Wildcats have eased up on the defensive pressure as individuals begin asserting themselves.

The teams are exchanging baskets as NU’s lead hovers around 20 points. Neither team has made any serious run in the early stages of the second half.

John Shurna has continued his strong play and Kevin Coble is starting to assert himself more to maintain a comfortable lead. Shurna has 13 points and 6 rebounds while Coble leads the team with 16 points.

Kyle Rowley has had a couple good looks right around the basket that he has been unable to finish. The freshman center was advised before a timeout to slow down by senior Craig Moore.

Rowley has been rushing offensively, especially around the basket. Rather than collecting himself and rising for a finish, he seems to want to get the ball up on the backboard and rim as quickly as possible. He has gotten in really deep in bad angles to do this. Rowley only has two points so far tonight.

The Islanders were shooting four of 11 from the field while the Cats have hit on 58 percent of their shots.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi though went on a 7-2 run with about three minutes to play that closed the lead to 12 points. The Islanders are starting to make shots after the struggles on offense. And it is not for a lack of trying on NU’s part.

Instead the Cats’ offense has become lethargic and perimeter oriented. They are taking quick shots early in the shot clock and letting the Islanders get out on the break. It is not boding well for NU as the lead tightens.

The Islanders then got a chance to meet John Shurna. Shurna came on strong in the last stages of the second half, hitting a three to end the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi run and then getting a steal at mid-court that set up a fast break for Michael Thompson and Craig Moore. The two found Shurna streaking to the basket and he hit a layup that put the lead back at 18 points at halftime.

NU leads 39-21 at the break.

The defense is winning this game again for the Wildcats. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is struggling with turnovers and breaking the press.

Coach Bill Carmody was not lying when he said he would continue to tinker with the defense and use the press. The Cats are pressing full court and trapping at the midcourt line and then falling back into a 2-3 zone. It has been pretty effective as NU went on an 18-4 run (which included a shot clock violation) to take a comfortable double-digit lead.

It was the Cats’ 3-point shooting that really seemed to calm the team down. Moore hit his record-setting three, but Coble has drained a few and it really helped keep the Cats in the game early and has helped them maintain a healthy lead — not to mention open up cutting and driving lanes that has led to such a high shooting percentage.

Those 3-pointers were created off of dribble penetration and the ample driving and cutting lanes the good shooting created. Those are not there anymore as the Islanders have tightened up their defense.

But it seems like the team is calming itself down and finding a way to get ahead and stay ahead.