The ‘Cats rode some staunch defense to the W.
The ‘Cats can breathe a sigh of relief.
Northwestern (8-14, 1-10 B1G) defeated Penn State (10-14, 1-12 B1G) 69-63 for its first win since Dec. 21. Despite shooting just 41.9% from the field, the ‘Cats forced 24 turnovers during a defensive clinic in Welsh-Ryan Arena.
For the purple-and-white, Melannie Daley led the way with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. Grace Sullivan also added 14 points while Caroline Lau set up her teammates with eight assists.
For the Lady Lions, Gracie Merkle scored 13 points and collected 12 rebounds. As a team, Penn State shot just 43.1% from the field as the ‘Cats shut the water off all afternoon, save for a stressful final five minutes.
Merkle won the tip for the Lady Lions, who struck first with a turnaround jumper by Gabby Elliott. The ‘Cats responded on the other end as Walsh fed a slick entry pass to Taylor Williams inside. With five minutes elapsed, Lau pulled in an offensive rebound and finished the putback, knotting the game at 6-6 heading into the first timeout.
Penn State scored first coming out of the break, as Vittoria Santana stepped into a three from the right wing. After a tiptoeing save by Williams, Sullivan scored her patented turnaround shot to bring the ‘Cats within one. But Santana continued to push with a midrange jumper and assist on consecutive possessions to make it 13-8 for the Lady Lions.
As the first quarter wound down, Merkle put in some work on the boards for a layup off an offensive rebound. After Williams smoked a layup, Penn State pushed the pace and found Merkle for yet another score. Daley snapped the Lady Lions’ 8-0 run with a midrange jumper, and Walsh added two free throws on the next possession. Following some shifty dribbling by Talayah Walker, Penn State was up 19-12 after 10 minutes of action.
The ‘Cats kicked off the second quarter with some solid defense. Williams got her hand on a shot before NU forced its eighth turnover of the afternoon. But the Wildcats couldn’t translate their active hands into a basket, as Lau sent a full-court pass above the outstretched arms of Williams.
Daley had other plans, as she canned two midrange baskets to bring the ‘Cats within three. After an airball by Lau, Daley gobbled the rebound and finished the putback to make it 23-20. Jayla Oden couldn’t convert for the Lady Lions, and Sullivan netted a transition basket to slash NU’s deficit to one and force a timeout.
Penn State appeared to work things out on the bench, as Elliott hit a layup before forcing a turnover by Xamiya Walton. Daley wouldn’t be denied, however, as she rose up to can a low-percentage midrange jumper to make it 25-24. After a middie by Sullivan, the ‘Cats found themselves in front for the first time all afternoon.
The ‘Cats capitalized on that lead, as Williams charged hard and finished a one-handed shot off the glass to push the score to 28-25. After Walton drew an offensive foul on Grace Hall, Walsh fed the hot hand as Daley hit yet another elbow jumper.
With less than a minute to go, Casey Harter rejected Santana’s layup attempt as the purple-and-white held it down on defense. But Walker struck yet again as time dwindled down, snaking her way through the ‘Cats to cut NU’s lead to 30-29 at the half.
Daley started the second half with a heat check, as she missed everything on a jumper from the free-throw line. But her teammates picked her up, as Walsh drew a charge on Merkle under the basket on the other end. After a media timeout, Walsh finished under the basket to put NU up by three. The ‘Cats struggled to find the net, but a block by Harter initiated a fastbreak where Lau found a streaking Kyla Jones for her first basket of the day.
The Lady Lions started to heat up once more after getting the productive Merkle back in the action. She scored a layup and found a cutting Elliott on consecutive possessions to cut NU’s lead to 34-33. After two free throws from Jones, the ‘Cats were back up by three. But Penn State would not be denied, as Moriah Murray sank a corner three to knot the game at 36-36.
The purple-and-white found itself in a dry spell, making just one of its last 10 field goals. Daley came to the rescue, sinking an elbow jumper and converting the and-one to put her team up 39-38. On the other end, Elliott played copycat with a three-point play of her own to put the Lady Lions in front by two.
NU looked to finish the third period strong, as Sullivan hit a midrange jumper before Walsh blocked Merkle at the other end. Harter came up with a steal with five seconds remaining, but she left the layup short as the buzzer sounded, keeping the game tied at 41.
The ‘Cats opened the final quarter with a bang, as Walsh swished a three from the left wing. After forcing an offensive foul, Daley escaped a double-team and found Harter in the corner for another three to put Northwestern up by six. Oden drew contact for the Lady Lions on the other end, but she only made one free throw. With eight minutes to go, Penn State had hit just three of its nine attempts from the charity stripe.
Coming off a Lady Lions timeout, Daley swiped her first steal and finished a dish from Lau on the other end. Sullivan kept the active defense going, as she stole another ball and allowed Lau to get a basket of her own, putting the ‘Cats up 52-43. After an elbow jumper by Sullivan, NU had completed a 7-0 run and possessed its largest lead yet with an 11-point gap.
A slick feed from Elliott to Merkle snapped NU’s scoring run and cut its lead to 55-45. On the other end, Sullivan canned yet another elbow jumper with less than five minutes remaining. After a contested layup by Walker, the Lady Lions shrunk their deficit to 59-51.
Penn State continued to chip away at NU’s lead, as Tamera Johnson sank two free throws to make it 59-53. Following a transition layup by Walker, the Lady Lions were only down by four. Williams managed to snap a three-minute scoring drought with a free throw of her own with just over a minute to go.
After a lengthy official review, Daley came up with a crucial steal and finished on the other end to inflate NU’s lead to seven. The Lady Lions resorted to some Hack-a-’Cat to preserve precious seconds on the clock.
With just 15 seconds left, Williams made a key free throw to make it a two-possession game. After a Penn State timeout, Sullivan stole the inbounds pass, and Harter sank two free throws to all but seal the victory. Despite the late-game dramatics, the ‘Cats came away with a 69-63 win.
Northwestern will look to pick up consecutive wins for the first time since mid-December when it visits Purdue on Wednesday. The game will be broadcast on B1G+ at 6 p.m. CT.