SPORTS
ON DECK Women’s Tennis 24 Arizona State at NU, 11 a.m. Saturday
JAN.
ON THE RECORD
We knew how important this game was, and we also knew how important it was to fight no matter what. — Christen Inman, sophomore guard
Friday, January 23, 2015
@DailyNU_Sports
Buckeyes bury Cats’ hopes Russell leads Buckeyes past NU
Despite loss, Cats make key strides
Ohio State
69
By BOBBY PILLOTE
daily senior staffer @BobbyPillote
Northwestern
67 By JESSE KRAMER
daily senior staffer @Jesse_Kramer
A dominant performance by freshman guard D’Angelo Russell allowed Ohio State (15-5, 4-3 Big Ten) to escape with a 69-67 win at Northwestern (10-9, 1-5) on Thursday. The defeat continues the Wildcats’ string of close losses. In the last four legs of its five-game losing streak, NU’s average margin of defeat is a measly 4 points. “It’s just so tough that they’re not getting the results they deserve,” coach Chris Collins said. “It’s tough going into that locker room knowing you fought so hard and just came up a little short.” The Cats cut an 11-point secondhalf deficit down to 1. However, several botched opportunities in the final minute, including two missed layups and a turnover, It’s tough allowed the Buckeyes to going into that survive. locker room “I love knowing you my group,” Collins said. fought so hard “There’s no and just came quit. We had every reason up a little short. in this game Chris Collins, when we head coach got down 11 and they were hitting everything to throw in the towel and say, ‘It’s not our night.’ But we didn’t do that.” At the start of the game, NU appeared on track to end its slide. The Cats jumped out to a 21-10 lead nine minutes into the game as the Buckeyes sleepwalked. Junior center Alex Olah played an inspired first half, continuing his recent resurgence in the post. The 7-footer had 10 points, two blocks and two steals in the opening period
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Ebony Calloway/The Daily Northwestern
RUSSELL’S REIGN Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell leads the team’s half-court offense. The freshman guard torched Northwestern on Thursday night, dropping 33 points and six dimes in securing the Buckeyes a narrow victory.
and finished with a team-high 16 points. Russell was the only Ohio State player who came ready to compete from the opening tip. His 12 points and 3 assists in the first half not only brought the Buckeyes back into the game but also helped them gain a 38-34 lead at the break. Russell did not let up in the second half. After three free throws by sophomore forward Sanjay Lumpkin cut Ohio State’s lead to 54-46, Russell delivered a perfect bounce pass from 25 feet out for an easy Sam Thompson dunk to push the Buckeyes’ lead back to double figures. The Cats managed a late rally down the stretch though. Trailing 63-60 with 2:44 to go, junior guard Tre Demps had a transition layup blocked by forward Anthony Lee. Collins said he disagreed with the non-goaltending call. “It should have been 63-62,” Collins said. “Somebody’s got to be held accountable for (the missed call).” Collins was livid on the sideline, hopping up and down while flailing
Men’s Basketball
Ebony Calloway/The Daily Northwestern
CONTROVERSIAL CALL Chris Collins shows his frustration. The coach was especially miffed about a late non-goaltending call, but his team » See MEN’S BBALL, page 9 once again showed progress in another close loss.
D’Angelo Russell made Northwestern look silly. Ohio State’s star freshman guard shredded the Wildcats’ defense to the tune of 33 points and six assists, routinely draining threes with a defender in his face and zipping bounce passes through windows nobody else could see. On one particular play, junior guard Tre Demps simply shrugged as he watched yet another Russell jumper sail into the net. “I tried to fight over the screen,” Demps said, “I got over it, they isolated me, I thought I got a hand up … and he still made it.” NU needed to contain the Buckeyes’ top threat in order to win, and they failed to do so Thursday night. But plenty of other things finally went right for the Cats. Beyond Russell, NU’s defense actually looked the best it has this season. Ohio State’s next-highest scorer was forward Sam Thompson with an unspectacular 11 points. Russell was also the only Buckeye to score in the final eight minutes of the game. NU found success with greatly improved defensive switching — something the team has struggled with all season — and finally started running over screens instead of under them to prevent easy threes. “Overall I thought our guys executed really well,” coach Chris Collins said. “We’re getting better every game.” Beyond the defense, that improvement showed up in the little things. The Cats snatched six steals, five more than they had in their last game against Michigan, and turned them into 12 points. NU also won the rebound battle, 32-29, and had a whopping 12 offensive boards that led to 16 second chance points. The team was an impressive 12-of-14 from the free-throw line and actually attempted more shots than Ohio State, a sign of better ball security and offensive production. Collins continues to be disinterested in the idea of a moral victory, but the Cats have definitely improved since the start of Big Ten play and are clearly moving in the right direction. Sometimes a special player like Russell just ruins the night. bpillote@u.northwestern.edu
Women’s Basketball
Cats claw back, overtake Illinois in final minute By CLAIRE HANSEN
the daily northwestern @clairechansen
Northwestern (14-4, 4-3 Big Ten) can breathe easy after squeaking past a tough Illinois (11-8, 2-5) team in Champaign on Thursday night. The Wildcats came back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to pull out a 68-67 win over the Fighting Illini, breaking the Cats’ two-game losing streak. “We knew how important this game was, and we also knew how important it was to fight no matter what,” said sophomore guard Christen Inman. “Our ultimate goal was to play forty minutes tonight.” The Fighting Illini and the Cats jostled for the lead in the opening minutes of the first period. After Illinois secured a couple of three-point
Northwestern
68 Illinois
67 leads, NU responded. The Cats went on two explosive runs, the second of which — a 52-second, 7-0 streak — put them up 30-17 with 5:36 remaining in the first half. That momentum didn’t last long, however. As NU’s offense went dead, the Fighting Illini came roaring back, going on a 13-0 run to knot the game at 30-30. Inman finally hit a jumper at 1:51 to quiet the home crowd, and NU took a 36-33 lead into halftime. But the advantage was a tenuous one, with the Cats shooting just 38.2 percent in the first half, along with a subpar 30.8 percent rate from beyond
the arc. And it really hurt when Illinois came out hot from the half, netting 11 of the first 16 points in the second period. Inman hit a 3 to tie the game at 44, but a series of turnovers and missed shots by the Cats gave Illinois the window it needed to pull away, leading to a 54-44 score with 11:02 left. Refusing to bow to the Fighting Illini’s smothering defense, NU began to claw back, methodically shaving down the deficit. Junior guard Maggie Lyon nailed a 3-pointer at 2:31 to tie the game at 64 — the 10th tie of the night. In the final minute, it was all Inman. The guard hit a jumper and two free throws to give the Cats a four-point lead. Despite an Illinois buzzer-beating three-pointer, NU would win 68-67. “I was just really proud of our team, we were down by 10 and came back and really kept our poise when
Illinois came at us,” coach Joe McKeown said. When the Cats were trailing by ten, McKeown said that he told his team to make it a possession game and try to get three stops in a row. Yet, despite the team’s clear resilience, McKeown acknowledged that other areas of NU’s play Thursday could have been stronger. “I was disappointed that we didn’t take better care of the ball,” he said. “It’s something we need to work on.” Illinois, who ranked first in turnover margin in the Big Ten before Thursday’s game, forced the Cats to lose possession 21 times. However, NU caused some serious damage of their own, forcing 24 Fighting Illini turnovers. Statistically, Illinois’ offensive Thursday was superior, edging the Cats in both field goal percentage and shots from beyond the arc.
“They made a lot of threes tonight, you’ve got to give them credit,” McKeown said. “They made threes from a lot of different players.” NU’s offensive was productive as well, and, above all, balanced. Inman, Lyon, senior Alex Cohen, and sophomore Nia Coffey all netted doubledigit figures, tallying 18, 14, 14 and 13 points respectively. Lyon led the pack with seven rebounds, followed by Cohen with six. Inman says that fighting back and winning this game demonstrated the program’s progress. “It shows our growth, especially for the sophomores who started as freshmen, we have a year under our belt,” she said. “Everyone’s a year older. We’ve learned from our past mistakes and past games and learned to fight even when things get tough.” clairehansen2018@u.northwestern.edu