SPORTS
ON DECK FEB.
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ON THE RECORD
We need to focus on playing our best game, playing with a sense of aggressiveness and care. Playing our hardest, — Kelly Amonte Hiller, coach that’s all we can control.
Women’s Basketball Illinois at No. 14 NU, 1 p.m. Saturday
@DailyNU_Sports
Friday, February 28, 2020
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Northwestern drops 12th in a row at home to Illinois Illinois
By JOHN RIKER
the daily northwestern @thejohnriker
On Jan. 18, Illinois edged in-state rival Northwestern behind sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu, who scored four points in the final 18 seconds. Dosunmu was at full power again with 21 points as the Wildcats (6-21, 1-16 in Big Ten) hosted the Fighting Illini (19-9, 11-6) on Thursday, but when NU threatened to even the rivalry with a late run, Illinois looked to an unlikely place — backup sophomore guard Alan Griffin. Griffin’s five second-half 3-pointers and career-high 24 points helped Illinois finish off the Cats, 74-66, and complete a season sweep of NU. Though the Cats’ offense came alive in the second half, it wasn’t enough to snap their 12-game losing streak. “Griffin’s shooting really opened up the game for them,” coach Chris Collins said. “The x-factor tonight was certainly Griffin’s six threes, which gave them the separation they needed.” Illinois freshman center Kofi Cockburn asserted his dominance early, owning the paint on both ends of the floor with 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half. Propelled by the contributions of Cockburn and Dosunmu, who added 13 in the frame, the Fighting Illini went on a 21-5 run midway through the half and built a comfortable lead over the offensivelydormant Cats.
74
Northwestern
66
Then, NU’s shots started falling. The Cats converted on six of their first nine attempts in the second half, and a lead that was firmly in double-digits for stretches of the first half was down to five. The next possession, Griffin connected on a 3-pointer to turn the game’s momentum and followed it up by making his next five shots. Despite an 18-point night from graduate transfer guard Pat Spencer and a 12-point effort off the bench from sophomore forward Pete Nance, the Cats couldn’t keep up. “We’ve always known he can do that,” coach Brad Underwood said of Griffin. “He adds another dimension. We all know he can shoot, rebound, the thing he did tonight was make some nice drives to the basket and make some nice passes. He’s becoming a really good Big Ten basketball player.” After getting manhandled by Minnesota on Sunday at home, NU found another gear against Illinois. The Cats pressured the Fighting Illini into eight turnovers, held Illinois starters Trent Frazier and Andres Feliz to a combined 4-for-22 shooting, and piled up 40 points in the second half. But NU suffered defensive lapses late and couldn’t string together a run to close the gap. Collins commended his team’s
effort in the defeat. “Our guys really responded from Sunday,” Collins said. “The effort, the fight, all those things were there at a really high level. Every time they tried
to get separation in the game, we kept fighting back and kept ourselves within distance.” After the Minnesota loss, Collins met with his team to set the tone for the rest of the season. The refresh didn’t result in a victory over a heated rival, but the difference in tone was evident. “We met a little bit about how we want to finish this thing out, how we want to continue to show growth, how we want to continue to fight and try to find a few wins along the way, and also how to set ourselves up,” Collins said. “It’s about these guys using this experience and getting better from it.” johnriker2023@u.northwestern.edu
SOFTBALL
LACROSSE
Cats ready for Oklahoma return No. 6 NU aims to By SOPHIA SCANLAN
the daily northwestern @sophia_scanlan
The last time Northwestern went to Norman, Oklahoma, the squad was headed to an NCAA Super Regional, energized after winning its own Regional in Evanston. But after two games, the Sooners knocked the Wildcats out of the tournament, not allowing them to score a single run. This weekend, NU (5-9) will return to Norman for the Oklahoma Invitational, squaring off against North Texas (13-2) and Abilene Christian (7-9) and facing No. 5 Oklahoma (113) again. Though she wasn’t on the squad last year, freshman pitcher Sydney Supple said the Cats aren’t thinking about last year’s games against Oklahoma. “It’s very much ‘new year, new season,’” she said. “Playing and executing our game is our main focus.” Coach Kate Drohan agreed, adding that the team has improved since it last faced the Sooners, but still has more to do. After the Mary Nutter Classic last weekend, where the Cats only won one of five, Drohan said the team especially needs to work on following through and ending games with a win. “Sure, there are lots of things that we’re doing differently this year than last year, but it’s really about us focusing on our team right now to play better softball,” she said. “We’re not here to just be competitive — we’re here to finish those ballgames.” NU will face some tough pitching this weekend as they try to do that. The Mean Green has three pitchers with earned run averages below 1.30 and the Sooners return senior pitchers Shannon Saile and Giselle Juarez, who both silenced NU bats in last year’s Super Regional.
Saile has only given up a handful of runs this season and Juarez — who was named a first-team All-American the past two years — has also continued to perform well this year, though she’s only put in around six innings of work. All the teams this weekend are also strong offensively. In the past four games, Abilene Christian has scored 43 runs, and senior catcher Blair Clayton alone has a slugging percentage of .659. North Texas also blew out opponents recently, crushing UT Arlington 10-1 on Tuesday. And though Oklahoma graduated offensive powerhouse
Sydney Romero, the Sooners still have a stacked lineup that’s accumulated a team batting average of .299. Despite the challenging opponents, sophomore first baseman Nikki Cuchran said that she knows the Cats have what it takes to be successful this weekend against good teams. “We know that we can hang with them,” Cuchran said. “We shouldn’t underestimate ourselves. Going into this weekend, too, we have a good mindset, and we know we can hold our own.” sophiascanlan2022@u.northwestern.edu
Daily file photo by Brian Meng
Maeve Nelson makes a catch during a 2019 game. NU will travel back to Oklahoma this weekend for the first time since last season ended in a Super Regional against the Sooners.
bounce back after loss By BEN LUALDI
the daily northwestern
Following a tough loss last weekend, Northwestern is hoping to rebound this Sunday against Stanford. The No. 6 Wildcats (3-2, 0-0 Big Ten) suffered their second setback of the young season in a 16-11 loss against the No. 4 Syracuse Orange on Feb. 22. Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said the loss came from a lack of quality throughout the field. “We didn’t play our best,” Amonte Hiller said. “Everybody has to kind of look within and try to be better.” A positive from the Syracuse game was the strong play of sophomore goalie Madison Doucette, who notched a career-high 11 saves. While Doucette and redshirt junior Julie Krupnick split time in the net in the opening four games of the season, Doucette played the entire 60 minutes last Saturday. Amonte Hiller said that the change was one she and her staff made after tracking statistics for some time. “We felt like Madison had some momentum, we wanted to start her and see how she did,” she said. “(Doucette) did really well. She made some big saves”. That said, the starting position has yet to be locked down. “I don’t think necessarily that’s what we’re going to do every single game,” Amonte Hiller cautioned. “I think we have three really good goalies, and we’re prepared to play whoever is best, just like any other position on the field.” While a couple of early-season
losses may be worrying to some NU fans, there are several reasons to stay optimistic about the rest of the season. Both losses have been to elite teams, with Notre Dame and Syracuse ranked No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, in the nation. The Cats had a similar opening to last season, starting 4-3 in their first seven games against similarly tough opposition, but turning it around to go 12-1 until their eventual national semifinal defeat against Maryland. One issue that NU must fix to start another winning streak: turning the ball over. The Cats coughed up 22 turnovers against Syracuse, their highest mark of the season. To date, NU has averaged 15.2 turnovers per game, up from 13.4 last season. “If you turn the ball over against a good team, they’re going to make you pay for that,” Amonte Hiller said. She added that because of the Cats’ aggressive style, “we have to be willing to take chances. But, we just can’t have the carelessness.” On Sunday, NU faces off against Stanford (2-2, 0-0 Pac 12), who is coached by NU alum Danielle Spencer. Spencer played and coached on some of the Cats’ best-ever teams. While the Cardinals may not be on the level of Notre Dame or Syracuse, so far this season they’ve shown they can compete with the best teams in the country. Their two losses came against No. 7 Virginia and No. 10 Denver by a combined five goals. “We need to focus on playing our best game, playing with a sense of aggressiveness and care,” Amonte Hiller said. “Playing our hardest, that’s all we can really control.” benjaminlualdi2023@u.northwestern.edu