Cats’ Corner: Your source for NU basketball

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Marquette had nearly completed a 14-point halftime comeback. Down by two, the Golden Eagles double teamed sophomore center Amy Jaeschke. Jaeschke skipped it to 3-point specialist Erin Dickerson wide open for a 3-pointer.

The ball squirted through her hands.

Marquette took advantage of the opportunity. Krystal Ellis tied the game at 54 with a pull up jumper along the baseline. Sophomore guard Meshia Reed missed a 3-pointer and fouled Ellis going for the rebound. Ellis completed the comeback with a free throw with 14 seconds left as Marquette came from behind for a 55-54 win at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Tuesday.

The Wildcats could not create any offense on their final possession and Dickerson made a 3-pointer after the buzzer sounded, sealing NU’s defeat.

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Coach Joe McKeown has been preaching to his team to play 40 minutes ever since Northwestern lost a six point lead late to Kansas State a few weeks ago. The Wildcats will get their chance to follow their coach’s mantra tonight against Marquette.

NU held a 14-point halftime lead, but takes a tenuous 52-44 lead to the final four minutes.

Both teams have not helped themselves in the half.

Marquette can definitely close this gap as the team has crashed the offensive glass for second-chance opportunities and limited the turnovers that cause it so much problems in the first half. But the Golden Eagles have not been able to quite close the gap — turning the ball over or missing an open shot or committing a foul with a chance to really put a scare into the Cats.

NU to its credit, has taken all of Marquette’s runs in stride. The team has not let Marquette get enough momentum to really threaten the lead and have continued to attack the basket and get to the foul line. That has been the Cats saving grace as they have shot 27 percent from the floor in the half.

All they need to do is hold on to secure the upset win.

As expected, Marquette has come out of the locker room playing much cleaner and with more intensity. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to eight at one point and trail only 43-34 with 11:50 left.

But they are still plagued by the same problems — NU’s swarming defense. Marquette is shooting a much better 43 percent from the field as the team is working to close the gap.

It is not going to be easy for the Eagles, even though the Wildcats are shooting just two for eight from the floor. They are still working the ball in Amy Jaeschke and finding some opening. Marquette has stepped up the defense and has forced NU into some holes. The team has also treid a full-court trap to increase its own pressure on the team’s opponents.

NU’s balanced scoring effort might be wearing down on Marquette. While the Cats are not shooting well, they are getting to the line, having taken six foul shots already in the half. It is helping to keep the distance in this game.

Kristin Cartwright leads the way with 10 points, but picked up her fourth foul. Jaeschke and Meshia Reed have eight and Brittany Orban has seven.

Northwestern’s defense has been simply stifling in the first half as the team takes a 34-20 lead to the locker room.

The Wildcats have held the Golden Eagles to 28 percent shooting and forced 14 turnovers. Marquette has made only seven field goals in the game.

While NU has recorded only five steals, a lot of the turnovers have been caused by increased ball pressure and by the team’s active hands. The Cats earned at least five tie ups that went to a jump ball.

Defense has been the focus early in the season for NU and new coach Joe McKeown. there have been some bumps in the road early in the season, but this kind of effort is what he is looking for when the team reaches its full potential.

The offense is taking care of thins on its end.

Marquette is very clearly concerned with defending Amy Jaeschke. With no one who can measure up to her height-wise, the Golden Eagles are sending two, sometimes three defenders at her every time she catches the ball. Jaeschke has six points and six rebounds, but more importantly, three assists.

As the defense has collapsed around her, Jaeschke has found open players for three-pointers and easy jumpers.

On defense, she has changed numerous shots and gotten her hands on a couple (as has the rest of the team). But even when Marquette gets an offensive rebound — the team is outrebounding NU 16-13 — the team has been unable to get second chance points.

In the second half, expect the Golden Eagles to focus more on working inside out and not getting trapped in the paint where Jaeschke and freshman forward Brittany Orban are wreaking havoc. Marquette may have to abandon the plan to swarm Jaeschke as she catches the ball and try to force her to win the game on her own.

If the Golden Eagles can limit their turnovers, they have the talent and ability to close the gap and make things interesting. Marquette is averaging 79.9 points per game and score points in bunches.

Northwestern and Marquette are locked into a tight battle through the first part of hte first half. Both teams have taken turns in the lead as they have both looked to push the ball. Right now NU leads 16-12 with 11:38 to go.

At first it led to some sloppy play. The teams have combined for 12 turnovers — the Wildcats forcing eight. NU has taken advantage of Marquette’s mistakes scoring eight points off turnovers.

The offense is starting to find its rhythm as the Cats have gotten the ball to Amy Jaeschke more. Jaeschke has only two points, but her presence is being felt on the court. The Golden Eagles have decided to double her when she catches the ball and she has found some open teammates for midrange jumpers.

Marquette is starting to get some shots off after they struggled protecting the ball and handling NU’s press. The Cats will have to keep the pressure up and continue to force turnovers to stay ahead in this game.

They have done a good job containing scoring threat Krystal Ellis. Ellis has only hit one shot and scored three points so far.

Northwestern split a pair of weekend home games at the DoubleTree White Invitational. The Wildcats (2-4) have been anchored by sophomore center Amy Jaeschke who is averaging 16.3 points per game and 11.5 rebounds per game.

She has been helped recently by junior forward Kristin Cartwright. Cartwright has averaged 15.3 points per game in her last three outings — including scoring a career-high 16 twice in the last three games.

NU faces a tough test tonight in Marquette (5-2). The Golden Eagles have lost their last two games after taking their first five, including a 76-71 loss to No. 15 Virginia on Saturday. Guard Krystal Ellis is averaging 16.0 points per game.

Last season, Jaeschke returned from injury and led the Cats to an upset 65-63 victory on the road against the Golden Eagles. Jaeschke scored 21 points and blocked Ellis’ shot with little time remaining to secure a one-point lead and the win.

Keys to the Game

1. Contain Krystal Ellis- Ellis may have missed the go-ahead basket in last year’s meeting in Milwaukee, but she is still a huge threat on the floor. Ellis had 30 points and 10 rebounds when the two teams faced off last year. She is still a huge focus for the offense and opposing defenses. NU’s new defense will be put to the test tonight against one of the best scorers they will probably see all season. The Cats will need to force the guard away from the basket, taking her off the glass and off the scoreboard.

2. Serve a healthy diet of Amy Jaeschke- no reason not to continue with what works. Jaeschke had a career game last year in her first game after an injury. Jaeschke should be a dominant force in the post again. If she can have another career night, she will not only be helping herself but also freeing up space for her teammates.

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Northwestern has not been in this position often in recent years. Holding a double-digit lead throughout the second half, coach Bill Carmody was able to empty his bench for the third time in five games with about a minute to play Monday night against UC Riverside.

In three of the Wildcats’ four wins this season, they have held a substantial lead and had to hold on to it in the second half to pull out the victory. The results with these leads have been a bit mixed.

“We’ve had leads at halftime this year, some pretty sizeable leads and lost them,” Carmody said. “That’s what we talked about at halftime. You can’t just try to maintain and coast out and finish the game. You have to a killer instinct there and have an edge and go after guys. We haven’t gotten to that point.”

NU eventually pulled out the win Monday night, but lost the second half 29-27 to UC Riverside. It was not the first time the Cats struggled to hold a large lead after 20 minutes.

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By Matt Forman

With a minute and a half remaining in Northwestern’s non-conference game against UC Riverside on Monday, fans started filing out of Welsh-Ryan Arena to a calm 13-point victory.

Those fans should have stayed an extra few seconds to see the most exciting play of the game.

As the Highlanders moved down the court for a quick hitting 3-point shot, freshman forward John Shurna came out of nowhere and blocked Sean Cunningham’s long-range attempt.

Shurna caught his own block, drove the length of the floor and layed a perfect finger roll into the basket while getting fouled. The 6-foot-8 freshman connected on the free throw, providing the Wildcats’ final point of the game, en route to the 59-43 win.

Shurna provided the games’ highlight-reel play, but it was his contribution on the backboard that made the biggest difference.

“We haven’t traditionally been a good rebounding team, so I was just proud to see that they didn’t get too many extra shots on us,” coach Bill Carmody said. “That has plagued us the last couple of years.”
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