With 1:42 remaining in the first half on Sunday, the Northwestern Wildcats trailed Utah by just three points, and the ’Cats had led for much of the game up to that moment.
The flashes weren’t perfect, but they were there. Grace Sullivan had already accumulated 14 points. The Utes were starting to surge, but NU was managing to get defensive stops and keep things close.
From that point forward, the wheels completely fell off.
Utah went on an astounding 29-4 run in just eight minutes and 17 seconds, taking
a commanding 68-40 lead in the third quarter and never looking back. In an eventual 91-66 win, the Utes shot 54% from the field and 39% from three-point range, all while outrebounding the ‘Cats 40-31.
It was a tough sequence for the Wildcats. And in many ways, it exposed the weaknesses of the squad when teams can successfully take Grace Sullivan out of the offensive gameplan.
Don’t get it twisted: Sullivan played very well in Sunday’s road matchup. She put up 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting and forced Utah to make defensive adjustments quickly. But after the Utes upped their physicality, Sullivan went quiet, shooting just 2-of-5 from the field after the first quarter.
With double-teams and aggressive defending on Sullivan, the Utes dared NU to beat them another way. The Wildcats simply couldn’t manage to do it.
The main offensive issue was a weakness from three-point range, one that has often been characteristic of the ‘Cats since last season’s 28.6% mark from distance, a Big Ten low. This year, the number has sunk further to 27.4%. Northwestern made just two threes in 21 attempts on Sunday, tying its lowest single-game total this year.
Angelina Hodgens went 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, and outside of that, the Wildcats simply couldn’t take the lid off. Their only other three came on a half-court heave from Caroline Lau to end the third quarter.
Still, it is important to note that the ‘Cats were playing shorthanded in this contest. Casey Harter was ruled out Sunday due to a lower-body injury, and her absence clearly hurt the ‘Cats. The junior’s 35% three-point mark is second among Wildcat shooters with at least 10 attempts, and her 3.3 rebounds per game were certainly missed as well.
Beyond that, Harter can seemingly fit into almost any lineup combination due to her team-first play style. The Pennsylvania native knows when to make the extra pass, and although she often hesitates before taking her three-pointers, she also knows how to distribute the basketball and has excellent court vision — even if that vision doesn’t always show in the form of assists.
Outside of Sullivan, one could argue Harter is NU’s most valuable player, so her absence certainly didn’t help matters. Nonetheless, losing by 25 to Utah — a team not projected to be in the NCAA Tournament, according to ESPN — is disappointing.
Not all hope is lost. The ‘Cats have indeed lost four straight, but they still can take solace in their 79-72 road victory over DePaul as a solid power conference triumph. NU stayed competitive in the losses to Missouri, Kansas and Ohio State. And against Utah, the ‘Cats led for most of the game up until their 31-30 advantage in the second quarter was taken away.
Still, this team needs a reset. Northwestern has found its superstar in Grace Sullivan, but the team needs secondary options surrounding her. It also needs to figure out how to defend the perimeter, as Utah’s 13 threes on Sunday certainly didn’t help matters.
The talent on this team exists, and at times this year, it has flashed far greater potential than last season’s 9-18 team showed. But to truly compete in high-level matchups going forward, Northwestern must find a way to discover its identity.
