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Wildcats Battle Back to Stun Badgers in OT, 86-83
Northwestern
furiously rallied from 15 points down in the second half to force
overtime with less than two seconds remaining, and eventually win the
game in the extra period, 86-83. The Wildcats won their seventh
consecutive contest and improved to 21-6 overall this season and 11-5
in Big Ten play. NU also remained unbeaten in overtime at 3-0.
Northwestern
tailed by 15 with 11:21 to go in the game, and 10 with 5:32 to go
before orchestrating an unbelievable comeback that included a 15-5 run
to close the game. Maggie Lyon had perhaps the most critical basket, a
baseline runner that fell with 1.8 seconds to go to force the extra
period.
Northwestern began its final possession down by two with
19.2 seconds to go. Lauren Douglas got the call out of a timeout, but
her layup drew iron. Bayside, Wis., native Alex Cohen came up with a
pivotal offensive rebound. She was tied up with 3.5 seconds to go, and
as fate would have it, the possession arrow favored the Wildcats.
Wisconsin
called a timeout after the tie-up and that gave Northwestern head coach
Joe McKeown to draw up a play. Lyon got the ball from Ashley Deary and
she converted from in close on the left side of the basket to five her
team the lead with 1.8 seconds to go.
Chicago's Big Ten Team
opened overtime on a 5-0 run following baskets by Deary and 3-pointer
by Lyon with 3:37 to go. The Wildcats pushed the lead all the way to
eight points with 59.7 seconds to go when Deary split a pair of free
throws. The Badgers would not back down that easily, however.
A
quick 5-0 run that was capped by a 3-pointer from AnnMarie Brown made
it a one-possession game, and soon after, another triple from Jacki
Gulczynski made it a two-point game with 26 seconds to go. The teams
went back and forth and when Brown scored, got fouled and converted the
free throw with 13.7 seconds to go. Christen Inman split a pair at the
line with 12.5 to go and NU was up by one.
Brown had a chance to
tie the game on the next possession, but layup rimmed out and Cohen
came up with an enormous rebound that set up the final possession.
Northwestern
won for the third time when trailing at the half this season, and it
showed for the third time in four games that it can erase a
double-digit deficit. The 'Cats went down by 14 in the first half
against Purdue before winning that contest in overtime on Feb. 11. NU
also rallied from a 13-point hole at Michigan on Feb. 14 to win when
Nia Coffey scored with 4.9 seconds to go.
After feeling each
other out over the opening few minutes, the Wildcats unleashed an 11-2
run that turned a three-point deficit into a six-point lead with 11:30
remaining in the half. After Coffey's jumper off a feed from Lyon, the
Badgers charged back.
After Lauren Douglas scored from the left
wing to get Northwestern in front by four, Wisconsin held NU without a
field goal over the 8:29. Deary hit two free throws for the 'Cats
during that span, but the stingy defense helped the home team post a
31-23 lead at the half.
Though it committed nine turnovers,
Wisconsin got to seemingly every loose ball in the first 20 minutes. UW
corralled more offensive boards (11) in the first half than NU's
combined total (10). Fortunately for Northwestern, its hosts only
scored six points off turnovers and seven on second chances.
Wisconsin
shot 41.2 percent in the first half and it continued to convert with
ease in the second half. The Badgers opened up a 15-point cushion by
making eight of their first 15 attempts in the second period, including
five of the first eight from beyond the arc. At about that time,
Northwestern began to roar back.
Coffey finished with a
team-high 21 points to lead five Wildcats in double figures Sunday.
Lyon netted 15, including 12 in the second half and overtime, while
Deary and Douglas scored 12 each. Inman contributed 11 points, two
assists and two steals in 22 minutes off the bench.
Northwestern
forced 23 turnovers Sunday, while protecting the ball on its own end.
The 'Cats were hampered by only 10 miscues, and only one in the pivotal
extra session.
The Wildcats inched closer to a program record
for most victories in a season Sunday. With their 21st triumph of the
season, Northwestern is only three wins shy of matching the program's
best-ever total, which came most recently in 1989-90. NU's 21 wins
overall are the most since 1995-96 (23) and its 11 wins in conference
play are the most since the 1990-91 squad won 12 Big Ten battles.
The
Purple and White and have won five consecutive overtime games dating
back to the 2009-10 campaign, including three this season.
Northwestern
will close the regular season next week with a pair of ballgames at
Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats, currently tied for third atop the Big Ten
standings, welcome Rutgers first on Thursday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. It will
be the first meeting against the Scarlet Knights since the 2002-03
campaign.
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