Northwestern (8-20, 2-15 B1G) hung around for a while but finally fell to No. 14 Maryland (23-6, 11-6 B1G) 79-57 on Wednesday night in College Park. After another forgettable game, the ‘Cats are officially eliminated from playoff contention as they can no longer crack the Big Ten’s top 15 teams.
Tonight’s loss marks the second straight season Northwestern has missed the Big Ten Tournament and the fourth straight season with fewer than 10 wins.
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Grace Sullivan led Northwestern with 23 points and five rebounds. Caroline Liu scored a team-high 9 rebounds and 4 assists, and also scored 9 points herself. Meanwhile, Maryland’s Oluchi Okananwa scored 25 points and Saylor Poffenbarger added 13 rebounds and four assists in the paint.
The Cats’ Achilles’ heel is their ball control. Northwestern turned the ball over 21 times, while Maryland had six. The Terps also dominated in the paint, outscoring Northwestern 54-38 in the paint and outrebounding the Cats 43-35. Northwestern and Maryland both shot under 45 percent, but the home team made 24 more field goals.
Northwestern never led in the game.
The Cats struggled to penetrate the paint initially, but the Terps cut through Northwestern’s defense like butter, scoring five layups in the first five minutes. After half a quarter, Maryland still led Northwestern 10-5 despite missing its first eight long-range shots.
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What followed was a series of ugly shots from both teams. Northwestern turned the ball over multiple times and Maryland missed several 3-pointers until Casey Hart ended the 3-point drought. Maryland entered the first media break holding a five-point lead. On the first possession after the break, Yarden Garzon extended the lead with a contested glass shot.
With 1:49 left in the quarter, Hart made two free throws and then a three-pointer to pull the Cats within 4 points. At the end of the first quarter, Northwestern trailed Maryland 20-14.
The Cats started the second quarter promisingly. Sullivan opened the scoring in the quarter, and Kat Righeimer helped Sullivan score again, narrowing the gap to two points.
However, things began to unravel when a defensive miscue led to back-to-back three-pointers by Maryland’s Seiler Poffenbarger and Rennie Wilson. The Terrapins went on an 8-0 run to give the home team their first double-digit lead of the night.
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Sullivan added to her scoring total by hitting several free throws and a contested layup. Still, the ‘Cats’ defense couldn’t slow down the Terrapins, who began to pull away behind a 3-pointer from Brianna Williams and a routine 3-pointer from Garzon. The Cats found themselves in their biggest hole yet, trailing 36-22 just 4:30 into the half.
Caroline Lau sparked a counterattack for the ‘Cats with a wing three, but the Terrapins continued to dominate the paint, finding fast break layups one after another. Okananwa attacked the ‘Cats’ defense relentlessly, scoring over, around and between Wildcat defenders. When the game clock reached 0:00 in the second quarter, Maryland led 44-31.
At halftime, Sullivan led the Cats with 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting, while Hart trailed by nine points. Okananwa led Maryland with 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting. With 20 minutes left in the game, the difference between the two teams was Northwestern’s inability to make a shot. In the first half, the Cats committed nine more turnovers and grabbed six fewer rebounds.
The Terps started the second half with the ball, and Okananwa opened the half with a layup. Walton assisted Sullivan on the Cats’ opening possession, and the sophomore took the ball himself on the next possession, keeping Northwestern within striking distance.
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Northwestern continues to struggle against a struggling Maryland offense. Liu added to Walton’s effort with a floater and Deja Turner went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe as Northwestern trailed 40-51 midway through the third quarter.
Sullivan hit a deep jumper and drew a foul at the end of the fast break to cut the Terrapins’ lead to single digits for the first time since 5:35 of the second quarter. Kyndal Walker made a layup and an Okananwa fast break extended Maryland’s lead to 13 points, but Sullivan continued to contend with another fadeaway mid-range jumper.
Okananwa and Walker continued to pose devastating questions to NU’s defense, and the Cats ultimately had no answers to end the third quarter. Maryland ended the quarter on a 7-0 run and led Northwestern 63-45, giving the hosts their largest lead of the game.
The Cats started the fourth quarter with a possession, but the game ended with Hart’s trip, Northwestern’s fourth of the night. Maryland continued to pull away in the final quarter, while Northwestern narrowed the gap to within 20 points in the final 8 minutes and 18 seconds.
Next up, Northwestern will host Purdue (12-15, 4-12 B1G) in the season finale on Sunday, March 1 at Wales Ryan Stadium.
