The Wildcats suffered a significant setback in their Big Ten Tournament hopes.
The ‘Cats were simply out of luck on Sunday.
In a game with important implications for making the Big Ten Tournament, Northwestern (9-17, 2-13 B1G) could not finish the fight against Wisconsin (13-14, 4-12 B1G), losing 73-68 and falling to 2-6 on the road.
The Wildcats were headed by Melannie Daley, Caileigh Walsh and Taylor Williams, who scored 19, 18 and 17 points respectively. Williams shot 11-of-12 from the free throw line and added 11 rebounds, and Caroline Lau chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Walsh added eight rebounds as well.
Carter McCray led the Badgers with a season-high 22 points, in addition to recording 11 rebounds. Serah Williams added 15 despite shooting 6-of-19 from the field. In all, the Badgers shot 43% from the field, including 54% from three.
Northwestern won the tip-off, and the ‘Cats picked up an early basket on a Kyla Jones drive. Halle Douglass responded nicely with a second-chance layup for the Badgers, but Taylor Williams gave Northwestern the lead shortly after on a layup of her own. Serah Williams of Wisconsin tied things up with 9:04 to go in the first quarter, and after a brief drought from both teams, Ronnie Porter found net with a jumper to give the Badgers their first lead.
Soon after, Walsh drew a shooting foul in the lane, knocking down both free throws to tie the game at 6-6. Douglass was money from three on the next possession, but two layups from Walsh gave the ‘Cats a 10-9 edge. Wisconsin’s Williams responded, making her way to the line on a shooting foul and easily knocking down both attempts. Wisconsin led by three after a two from McCray, but a Lau three-pointer tied things up for the Wildcats. The teams traded twos to knot the score up at 15, and after Lau drew a shooting foul, both squads went into the media timeout.
Lau missed both at the charity stripe, and neither team scored until a 1-of-2 trip to the free throw line for McCray. A subsequent Porter steal set up a Wisconsin fast break, which finished with a Serah Williams layup. The Badgers stayed hot on the next possession, as an open three from Lily Krahn gave them their largest lead of the day at 21-15. Taylor Williams made one of two free throws on a trip to the line, and from there, the teams traded layups to round out the first quarter.
McCray made an opening layup to start the second quarter, but Walsh knocked down a corner three on the next possession, cutting the Wildcat deficit to 25-21. A Daley jumper and a Lau layup came in quick succession and suddenly, the ‘Cats had tied things at 25 after a 7-0 run. McCray halted the Wildcat scoring stretch with a two of her own, moving up to 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. In response, Daley got to the free throw line, hitting both shots to even up the score once again. After a baseline jumper from Serah Williams and a Badger foul drawn by Taylor Williams, the teams went into the media stoppage with Wisconsin clinging to a 29-27 advantage.
Williams hit both free throws, and after a brief drought, McCray found herself wide open for an easy layup. Walsh responded with a big-time three-ball and a tough reverse layup, getting up to 14 points on the afternoon. With Wisconsin seeking offense, McCray made it to the line, sinking both free throws to cut the Badger deficit to 34-33. Douglass ended the first half with a fast-break layup, giving the Badgers a 35-34 edge heading into halftime.
The first half primarily featured an offensive battle between Walsh and McCray. Walsh ended the first 20 minutes with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. On the Badger side, McCray shot 6-of-9 from the field en route to 15 first-half points. As a team, Northwestern shot 43% from the field compared to 40% for the Badgers, and the teams were relatively even in the rebounding split, with Wisconsin holding a slight 19-18 advantage.
The second half began with a 2:11 scoring drought from both sides before a Taylor Williams layup gave the ‘Cats a one-point lead. Neither team scored again until a McCray floater with 6:43 on the clock handed the Badgers their first points of the second half. McCray subsequently committed her third foul, allowing Northwestern’s Williams to hit two free throws and give the ‘Cats a 38-37 edge. Serah Williams, who had previously been 3-of-15 from the field, finally found a contested layup, but Walsh responded with her sixth field goal on a second-chance two. From there, a foul on Walsh with four minutes to go in the third quarter sent both teams into the media break.
Douglass made her first free throw but missed the second, keeping the game all square at 40-40. On the next Badger offensive trip, Porter scooped an easy layup. After that, a three-ball from Krahn sent the teams into a Northwestern timeout.
The break did little to stifle Wisconsin, as a Williams layup added to the 8-0 Badger run. Lau was fouled and made 1-of-2 at the stripe, but McCray got position inside for a quick layup, giving Wisconsin its largest lead of the game at 49-41. Surprisingly, Casey Harter had not yet taken a shot up to that point, but she finally converted her first attempt on a tough drive to the basket. From there, split free-throw-line trips from Porter and Serah Williams ensued, and a layup from McCray handed the Badgers their first double-digit lead of the day. Neither team scored for the rest of the quarter, and the Badgers entered the fourth frame with a 53-43 lead.
A Daley floater to start the fourth gave Northwestern some life, but in response, Serah Williams banked home a jumper in a flash. Grace Sullivan’s first basket for Northwestern put the ‘Cats back within eight, but McCray made a trip to the free-throw line, making one out of two to put Wisconsin on top 56-47. The ‘Cats needed a basket, and they got one from Daley, who knocked down an important jumper from the left elbow. Daley then hit a mid-ranger from the baseline on NU’s next possession, cutting the deficit to five as Wisconsin used a timeout.
Coming out of the break, Taylor Williams drew a shooting foul, making two free throws and bringing the Badger lead down to three. Wisconsin took back momentum immediately with a three-pointer from Tess Myers, who had not scored in the game up to that point. Walsh got the Wildcats slightly closer with a 1-of-2 trip at the free throw line, but a clutch third three from Krahn gave the Badgers a 62-54 lead. Harter sped into the lane for a much-needed two, and the ‘Cats used a timeout after the basket with 4:47 to go in the fourth quarter.
Coming out of the timeout, Serah Williams was whistled for her fourth foul of the contest, sending Daley to the line. Daley made the first but missed the second, and neither team scored until Myers brought Wisconsin to a 65-57 lead with a massive three. With the Badger crowd getting loud, Taylor Williams battled under the basket for a lay-in, but Porter’s scoop shot on the next possession barely dropped through the net to put the Badgers up by eight once again. Walsh made 1-of-2 free throws on a trip to the line, as McCray, the Badgers’ leading scorer, crucially fouled out with 1:51 to go in the fourth.
McCray’s absence didn’t deter Wisconsin, as Myers knocked down another triple, allowing the Badgers to go up 70-60. Taylor Williams made two more free throws for the ‘Cats and Serah Williams committed a foul with 1:05 on the clock, also fouling out of the game. With a chance at two free throws, Taylor Williams missed both and a Porter layup put Wisconsin back up by double-digits. Northwestern’s Williams went back to the line once again, making both with 48 seconds to go. With the score at 72-64, the ‘Cats needed a miracle. However, they could not complete a late comeback attempt, falling by a score of 73-68.
Northwestern will return to the Welsh to face Nebraska in its final regular season game. That matchup will take place on March 2 at 2 PM CST.