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 Zach Buchanan

Northwestern coach Joe McKeown walked into the Welsh-Ryan Arena locker room after his team’s 57-52 loss to Kansas State on Monday night and wrote “40 minutes” on the whiteboard.

NU only played well for 36.

“I’m trying to turn around the culture of women’s basketball at Northwestern, and we have to learn how to play 40 minutes,” said McKeown, in his first season with the team. “That’s the challenge I put out every day.”

After trailing by six points with 4:15 remaining in the game, Kansas State went on a 13-2 run, sparked by key baskets from forward Marlies Gipson and point guard Shalee Lehning. Gipson scored a layup off a pass from Lehning to cut the NU’s lead to four. Lehning followed with a 3-pointer and a layup to put Kansas State up by three with 45 seconds on the clock.

“It just came down to Kansas State making a couple big plays at the end of the game and that was the difference,” said McKeown, whose team had held Lehning, one of the best point guards in the country, to five points before her outburst at the end of the game. She finished with 12 points on 4-for-4 shooting and seven assists.

To read more, click here.

DEFICIT AT HALF FAILS TO SINK KANSAS STATE

By Danny Daly

When looking for an indication this Northwestern team has put last year behind it, look no further than the start of the second half of Monday night’s heartbreaking 57-52 defeat to Kansas State. NU held a 21-13 advantage with slightly less than eight minutes left in the first half before Kansas State reeled off 12 straight points to claim a 25-21 lead.

Though NU closed the deficit to one point on sophomore guard Meshia Reed’s basket and a free throw by sophomore center Amy Jaeschke, the momentum was clearly with Kansas State.

NU’s shooters had gone cold, making just one of their last eight shots after hitting nine of their first 12. Meanwhile, Kansas State had started to wear down NU’s defense, grabbing four offensive rebounds in the last eight minutes to aid the comeback effort.

This was a situation NU knew all too well. Last season, the team was close at intermission multiple times. In home games against conference foes Illinois and Michigan State, for example, NU trailed by just two points at the half. But NU could not keep it up, falling in both contests by double digits.

To read more, click here.

By Zach Buchanan

After leading by as much as eight points, Northwestern scored only three points in the final 7:49 and allowed Kansas State to score 12 unanswered points en route to a 25-24 deficit at half time. In that time period, NU missed eight of their last nine shots.

NU had early success getting the ball inside to center Amy Jaeschke, who leads the team with 11 points. Northwestern only has one fewer rebound than Kansas State, but Kansas State holds the edge in offensive rebounds 6-3. Kansas State was able to take advantage of those second-chances to reclaim the lead.

NU had the opportunity to tie the game with 1:14 remaining with two Jaeschke free throws, but the sophomore missed her first attempt. A last-second half court shot by junior forward Kristin Cartwright bounced off the back of the rim to keep NU down by one.

By Danny Daly

After a disappointing 76-69 loss at Chicago State to begin the season last Friday, Northwestern will try to pick up its first win of the season in tonight’s home opener against Kansas State.

That will be no easy task, as Kansas State won the Big 12 Championship last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The team is coming off a 65-44 road victory over UTEP in its season opener and also stars three players that averaged double digits in points a year ago.

NU was fairly confident about its defense entering the season, but that unit did not perform up to expectations against Chicago State. Though the Cats forced 16 turnovers and held the Cougars to 40.6 percent shooting for the game, Chicago State pulled down 22 offensive rebounds and hit on 53.6 percent of its baskets in the second half to help open up a double-digit lead.

The Cats only came up with five steals against the Cougars, whereas they intercepted 16 passes in the exhibition victory over UW-Parkside. For NU to put up a good fight against Kansas State, the defense will have play more like it did in the exhibition game than it did in the season opener.

Offensively NU played decently against Chicago State, shooting 46.7 percent. But the Cats will need to take care of the ball better tonight. The team turned it over 18 times against the Cougars and had 11 passes stolen.

NU also has to be more consistent on 3-pointers. After making 6 out of 10 shots from beyond the arc in the first half, the Cats missed all three attempts after the break. Amy Jaeschke led the team with 23 points and 14 rebounds, and a similar performance tonight will keep NU in the game.

Interestingly, NU can draw inspiration from tonight’s opponent. Last year Kansas State became the first team in Big 12 history (men’s and women’s) to win the league the year after finishing at the bottom. NU would like nothing better than to duplicate that feat in the Big Ten this season.

Tip off is at 8 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena. If you can’t make it over to the court, the game will also be televised live on the Big Ten Network.

By Adam Fusfeld

After a preseason centered on fitting the newcomers in with the team, it is finally time to see how it will all come together.

On Sunday, Northwestern kicks off the 2008-09 basketball season by welcoming Central Arkansas to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats have lost their last two home openers, losing to then-No. 20 Stanford 71-60 last season and Cornell 64-61 the year before.

NU wants a win to get the season started in the right direction.

“We’d like to get off to a good start in non-conference play,” junior forward Kevin Coble said. “If we get some momentum going into the Big Ten that would be really good for us.”

To read more, click here.

WOMEN’S HOOPS: MCKEOWN GETS FIRST TRUE TEST

By Danny Daly

Less than one month after the official start of practice, Northwestern faces what could be its most difficult non-conference opponent.

The Wildcats will follow their opener at Chicago State on Friday with a battle against Kansas State in their first home game this Monday. Kansas State returns three of its top four scorers after advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament as a five-seed last year, knocking off Chattanooga before falling to Louisville.

Anxious to put the disappointment of last season’s injury-ravaged campaign behind them, the Cats are highly anticipating their first chance to see how they match up with a top team from a major conference.

“It’s better to play the harder teams, and it’s more fun too,” said junior forward Kristin Cartwright, who redshirted last year while recovering from an ACL injury. “You look forward to it more. It’s more exciting and you have to play your best.”

To read more, click here.