Once again, the Wildcats deal with a fiercely fought battle in Philadelphia.
After giving away a five-point fourth quarter lead against Charleston the day before, Northwestern was locked in another close battle in the third-place game in the Hawk Classic. This time, though, the Wildcats (7-5, 0-1 B1G) were able to survive a second-half charge from Howard (6-8, 0-0 MEAC) and hold on for a 68-66 win.
The biggest reason why was Midrange Mel. Mel Daley was scorching hot in this one, scoring 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, including the last three Wildcat field goals. Northwestern had three other players in double digits on Saturday, with Grace Sullivan at 16 points, Casey Harter at 11 and Caleigh Walsh at 11. Taylor Williams also had 11 rebounds in the effort, but fouled out midway through the fourth quarter.
For Howard, Saniyah King and Destiny Howell led the way with 13 and 14 points, respectively. Nile Miller had nine points and eight rebounds, and the Bison as a team tallied 40 boards.
Northwestern opened up the scoring with Williams converting one of two free throws. After two failed drives by both teams, Zennia Thomas made a lay up for Howard.
Caroline Lau hit a three to make it 4-2 at 7:33 — the first NU points since the first 30 seconds.
The Bison equalized the score at four and then at six, before a Sullivan free throw and Daley gave the ‘Cats a 9-6 advantage heading into the first time out.
Howard quickly added a basket out of the break, but Walsh soon responded for the ‘Cats with a score of her own.
Following two back-to-back turnovers and an unsuccessful shooting attempt by the Bison, Harter sunk a three-pointer to put Northwestern ahead 14-8.
Two baskets from Howard slimmed the lead to just one with two minutes left, but Walsh responded with a jumper and a free throw after drawing a foul.
Walsh’s scoring didn’t stop there, as a layup brought it to 19-13. The Bison scored one more, but the ‘Cats finished out the quarter with a four-point lead.
Harter made her second three of the game to mark the first points of the second quarter at the 8:09 mark. A pair of Bison free throws narrowed the lead to 22-17.
Nearly two minutes after Harter’s basket, Tayla Thomas added Northwestern’s second basket of the quarter on a layup. Despite the Wildcats’ struggles offensively, Howard had it worse — the Bison were mired in the midst of a scoring drought spanning over three minutes.
Following two missed Wildcat shots out of the time out, King sunk a three for Howard. Melannie Daley quickly responded to give Northwestern its first points in three minutes, but the Bison maintained momentum, adding a basket and a free throw in the following plays to make it 26-23.
After trading baskets, Tyana Walker erased the Wildcat’s lead to tie the game at 28 on a three-pointer, which happened to be her first basket of the game.
The comeback continued for Howard, as the Bison added five points over the next 80 seconds to finish their 10-0 run ahead 33-28 at the half. Northwestern closed the half on a two-minute scoreless drought, and Howard walked into the locker rooms having hit six of its last seven shots. The Wildcats, conversely, were just 4-of-15 in the second quarter.
In need of a fiery start, Northwestern failed to covert on its opening drive, but Howard also failed to score. Sullivan made a pair of free throws on the subsequent drive to officially halt the Bison’s scoring streak.
Lau notched a steal, then assisted a Harter layup, which made it a one-point game. Harter continued to fuel momentum by knocking down her third three on the next possession to put NU back up ahead 35-33.
A King free throw seemed to be the only answer to stopping a three-and-a-half minute scoring drought for Howard and Northwestern’s momentous 14-0 run, bringing the score to 42-34.
King successfully made a pair of free throws on Howard’s next drive, but Sullivan responded right away for Northwestern on a layup.
Howell scored back-to-back buckets for Howard to try and close in on the lead, but Daley extended the ‘Cats lead right back at 46-40.
The Bison scored twice out of a time-out with a free throw and a jumper, but Sullivan eliminated that run on a three-point play.
Following a scoreless minute, Walsh converted a pair of three throws. She did the same, just a few seconds later, to respond to a Howard basket and make it 53-45.
The plethora of free throws continued, with King earning an opportunity after she scored a layup and Xamia Walton making one for the ‘Cats.
Howell seemed to have take matters into her own hands as the frame entered its final minute, making a shot and pair of free throws to dwindle NU’s lead to 54-52.
But before the third quarter could end, both teams had another opportunity at the free throw line. Those trips made it just a one-point game at 55-54, with only 10 minutes to play.
Howard retook the lead to begin the fourth quarter on a Walker pull-up. Northwestern struck back quickly, and Daley and Sullivan pushed the lead to three. Both teams really struggled offensively in the fourth quarter, and were heavily reliant on free throws to get points.
A jumper from Daley put NU ahead 61-58 going into a time out. But a costly turnover led to a Howard layup. Even more costly, Williams then fouled, putting her out of the game and affording Howard a free throw opportunity that tied the score at 61.
Howard briefly took the lead, but Daley tied the game with a tough fadeaway that rattled around every part of the rim. On the Wildcats’ next possession, Daley drilled another jumper, giving Northwestern the lead.
Howard had multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead, but tallied just one point on three consecutive possessions. After another miss from the Bison, Daley somehow converted an impossible lefty layup over two defenders to extend the lead to three points with just 25 seconds to play.
The Wildcats’ defense held firm on one of Howard’s last possessions, forcing three misses by the Bison. Unfortunately, the third was rebounded by Howard’s Nile Miller, and she converted a layup to trim the lead to just one.
Grace Sullivan split her free throws, and the Bison had one more chance. But Walsh denied a three-pointer from Destiny Howell, sealing a 68-66 victory. Northwestern scored 40 points in the second half, and the Wildcats needed all 40 to escape Philadelphia with a victory. They also return to Evanston with a third-place finish in the Hawk Classic.
Northwestern will host Washington on Dec. 28, following the Christmas break.