It might’ve been Northwestern’s best performance of the season, but it just couldn’t get the W.
The tip of the iceberg.
The Wildcats were right with Maryland for what feels like an eternity — it was practically the entire second half — but just couldn’t get over the hump and into striking distance until it was too late. Northwestern kept Maryland’s lead at 10 to 15 points for nearly the entire game, and even cut it to four, but there simply wasn’t enough time on the clock to allow for the comeback to happen.
Melannie Daley led the ‘Cats on the night with 22 points, while Caileigh Walsh added 15 of her own and Taylor Williams poured on 18 and eight rebounds. For the visiting Terrapins, Kaylene Smikle led the way with 23, but three other Terps (Shyanne Sellers, Sarah Te-Biasu, and Saylor Poffenbarger) added in double-digit scoring efforts as well.
Heading into Thursday night’s matchup at Welsh-Ryan Arena, both teams were coming off wins. Maryland (21-6, 11-5 Big Ten) had defeated Michigan last they played, and Northwestern (9-16, 2-12 Big Ten) had won its last game against Rutgers. Yet, the Wildcats had yet to win a game against a ranked opponent all season, and the Terrapins were ranked No. 21 in the nation.
Junior guard Caroline Lau’s fast-break pass to a cutting graduate student guard Kyla Jones gave the ‘Cats their first points of the night. Junior guard Kaylene Smikle responded with an and-1 layup where she made her foul shot for the three-point play. Jones drew a foul of her own driving to the lane and went 1-2 at the stripe, tying the game up at three apiece with 8:07 left in the first quarter.
Senior guard Shyanne Sellers hit a spot-up three to give the Terps the lead. A minute later, graduate student forward Taylor Williams drove inside for an easy two points for NU, but Smikle quickly returned the favor with a layup of her own. Jones made it back to the foul line where she again went 1-2.
The first two off the bench for the ‘Cats, senior guard Melannie Daley and junior forward Grace Sullivan, connected on a pass to give Sullivan the easy layup, but junior guard Saylor Poffenbarger drove inside for the response lay. By the first timeout of the night, UMD was up 10-8 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
Graduate student guard Mir McLean scored the first points out of the timeout. Smikle returned to the stripe and went 1-2, but Daley responded with a running jumper on the other end of the floor. Williams followed up with some post moves to find a shot of her own. McLean rotated to the inside for the response lay-in, and graduate student guard Sarah Te-Biasu found open space for her shot to extend the lead.
Senior forward Caileigh Walsh attempted to close the gap with a triple, but Te-Biasu gave NU a taste of its own medicine, splashing a three right back. With time expiring, Smikle drove downhill for a layup, giving the Terps a 22-15 lead over the ‘Cats heading into the second quarter.
Williams made the first points of the second quarter on an inside shot, and Sullivan split a pair at the line after being fouled on her fadeaway. On the other end of the court, Poffenbarger drove in for the and-1 layup and hit her foul shot. Smikle stole Lau’s ball and went the length of the court for the fast-break layup, prompting an NU timeout. With 8:38 left to play before halftime, UMD commanded a nine-point lead and was beginning to pull away.
The timeout did not change much as Poffenbarger immediately came out and hit a three. Daley responded with her signature jumper, and Walsh spun in the post to tack on a couple more. Sellers poured on the outside barrage for UMD, though, hitting yet another three. McLean and sophomore guard Emily Fisher both went to the line on consecutive possessions and drained all their foul shots. With just 5 minutes left, UMD led 37-22.
Despite their best efforts, the ‘Cats just could not cut the lead. Freshman forward Tayla Thomas managed to muscle her way to an inside bucket, but Te-Biasu responded with a layup. Daley went back and made her jumper, but Poffenbarger quickly found her way to the hole for two more. Daley rose up for another jumper, but Smikle responded with a perfect trip to the line. Smikle returned to the stripe and shot 1-2, but Walsh one-upped her, going perfect at the line.
Four more made free throws for Poffenbarger brought the score to 48-30 at halftime, with the Terps maintaining a comfortable lead over NU.
At the halfway mark, UMD had two players, Poffenbarger and Smikle, scoring in the double digits, while the ‘Cats leading scorer, Daley, had 9. The Terps had also generated 22 points off of NU’s 16 first-half turnovers.
Coming out of halftime, the ‘Cats began to slowly chip away at UMD’s 18-point halftime lead. Williams and Walsh went to work early, and Daley drained a triple to make it a 10-point game, with the Terps now leading just 53-43.
Early during the third quarter, Taylor Williams earned her 1000th career rebound after three seasons as a Western Michigan Bronco, one season as a Michigan Wolverine and as a Northwestern Wildcat in her final year. Her highlight didn’t end there, as Williams capitalized on the milestone with a nine-point, five-rebound third quarter to help the ‘Cats claw back into striking distance.
Maryland went cold for a long stretch of the third, allowing the Wildcats to inch their way back into the game with some timely buckets from Williams and Daley, and great playmaking from the junior Lau. Both teams went back and forth for the remainder of the quarter, leaving the score at 63-53 ahead of the final frame.
Five minutes into the final frame, neither team could break away from the 10-point differential. Free throws for Lau, Williams and Harter kept NU in the game, while UMD received help from all around its roster. The Terps led 72-62 after Daley’s made foul shot.
Back-to-back-to-back ‘Cat steals led to a layup from Daley and a jumper from sophomore guard Casey Harter to cut UMD’s lead to single digits, 72-66, and forcing a Maryland timeout to regather.
Senior forward Christina Dalce made a layup on the other end of the floor, but Sullivan responded with a jumper. NU then forced yet another turnover, resulting in another easy layup for Daley. After getting into a half-court set, senior forward Amari DeBerry sunk a skyhook, but Sullivan made her way to the line and drained both to bring the game within four points.
After Maryland successfully broke the NU press, Dalce took a trip to the line and went 1-2. Williams matched her on the other end of the floor to keep the lead at four, but Smilke managed to find the space in the lane to sink a floater. Williams went back to the stripe and shot 1-for-2 again. The ‘Cats again stole the ball off the inbound but were unable to capitalize, leading to an open 3-pointer for Te-Biasu on the wing. Daley found positioning under the goal for another layup right before timeout.
The Terrapins led 82-76 with 43 seconds left to play.
Coming out of the timeout, UMD opted to waste as much time as possible at the top of the key before being eventually fouled. The same scenario occurred after the Terrapins inbounded the ball, and this time it resulted in a trip to the line for Dalce where she made both.
Pressed for time and facing an 8-point defecit, Walsh stepped into an in-transition 3 that she drained to bring the game within 5 points. UMD led 84-79 with 18 seconds to go.
Daley immediately fouled Smikle after the inbound on the other end of the court, and she went 1-2, leaving NU with 16 seconds and a 6-point deficit. Harter launched a triple, but the shot lacked the power to reach the rim. With 10 seconds to go, the Terrapins just dribbled it out and sealed their victory.
Northwestern (9-16, 2-12) heads to Madison to face off against Wisconsin (12-14, 3-12) on Sunday at 2 p.m. on Big Ten Plus as it continues to try to solidify its spot in the Big Ten Tournament.