Rapid Reaction: Northwestern overpowered by scorching Oregon offense in 85-65 loss

Hopefully, Northwestern will be leaving losing in 2024.

Northwestern (7-6, 0-2 Big Ten) faced off against Oregon (9-4, 0-2 Big Ten) in Evanston for their first matchup at Welsh-Ryan Arena since 1991. Both teams were hungry for a win heading into the New Year, each searching for its first conference win of the season.

Oregon came out victorious behind a strong offensive performance and ferocious scoring in the paint, handing Northwestern a 85-65 conference loss.

Melannie Daley led the Wildcats with 17 points off the bench in the losing effort, while Caileigh Walsh and Kyla Jones added 15 and 14 points, respectively. NU shot 41.9% from the field, but committed 14 total turnovers and went a mere 1-12 from three.

Oregon was a sizzling 55.2% from the field and outscored Northwestern 46-36 in the paint. Peyton Scott was the Duck’s leading scorer with 14 points, with strong performances from Phillipina Kyei amd Nani Falatea providing secondary support.

Casey Harter started the scoring quick for the ‘Cats with a three from the corner. The hot start continued, as a trio of strong defensive stances was followed with a Walsh layup in transition to put NU up five fast. It wasn’t long until Oregon got on the board, though, converting a layup of its own and drawing two foul shots on the ensuing possession. Both teams went ice-cold for two minutes before the Ducks finally banked in a shot to give them their first lead of the contest. Daley responded to Oregon’s early momentum by swishing her signature jumper to tie the game at 8 apiece heading into the first media timeout.

Within the final five minutes of the first frame, Northwestern was unable to kickstart another run, missing a shot off of a Ducks turnover and promptly conceding an and-one to give the Ducks the lead. NU went cold on offense, with Jones breaking the ice on a layup. Good defense gave way to a short jumper for Mercy Ademusayo in her first game of the season to tie the score at 12. A perfectly executed pick-and-roll gave Oregon another lead, but Jones immediately responded with another score in transition in what was shaping up to be an electric back-and-forth battle. Oregon came right back by hitting its first three-pointer of the game, but Ademusayo converted a layup after back-to-back offensive rebounds. With five seconds remaining in the quarter, Oregon was able to score a layup off an inbounds pass to cement a 19-16 lead.

A scoring barrage opened the second quarter, with 20 combined points scored within the first four minutes. The offensive onslaught included an on-fire Jones converting three layups, as well as a jump shot from Walsh. Despite Northwestern’s push, Oregon still held onto its three point lead at 29-26. Oregon would get its ducks in a row from there on out, widening the lead to six after a make in transition. Another second-chance score prompted a timeout from McKeown to stop the sudden run, as the Ducks led 36-28.

Northwestern looked fresh out of the timeout, as Daley scored a long range shot out of the timeout and the ‘Cats were able to get a defensive stop. Ademusayo continued her fantastic season debut with another make, but again the Ducks responded once again on offense. Oregon achieved its largest lead of the game with more points off Wildcats’ turnovers. The Ducks widened the lead to double digits as NU’s offense just could not stop the bleeding, and a missed desperation heave from Daley sent Northwestern into the locker room down 43-34.

Jones was the leading first half scorer for Wildcats with 10 points on a perfect 5-5 from the field, with Daley and Ademusayo making their marks off the bench. The Wildcats shot 44.1% from the field but conceded a 56.3% mark to Oregon, while also getting outscored in the paint 28-20.

Daley opened the second half with a jump shot and drew a charge from Oregon. Williams made an elbow jumper to cut the lead further. However, Oregon’s hot shooting carried over from the second half, and they amped up their defensive intensity to score in transition and ended up widening their lead to 17 points. Northwestern’s turnovers racked up to eight and they struggled to keep up with Oregon’s scoring.

Following the media timeout, Xamiya Walton made one of two at the line, but the Ducks scored another bucket off a turnover to give them a 20 point lead. Northwestern went on a 9-2 run behind foul shots from Daley and layups from Walsh and Lau, but Oregon’s Alexis Winfield muscled in a conversion late to maintain a 65-50 lead after three quarters of play.

Both teams exchanged free throws to open the final frame. Trying to fuel a comeback, Daley hit an elbow jumper to make it a 68-53 lead for Oregon with 8:30 to play. However, Oregon converted just its second three of the game to regain a 20-point lead. NU went on a three-minute scoring drought that all but ended their comeback hopes, as Oregon kept the gas pedal on.

Northwestern heads into 2025 with an even 7-7 record, but remaining 0-3 in Big Ten play. The Wildcats’ road gets no easier, as they face off against No. 10 Ohio State next Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Columbus, streaming on Big Ten Plus.