Northwestern Avoids Collapse and Defeats Rutgers in Big Ten Matchup
After a snub in a recent top player ranking list, senior guard Veronica Burton showed just how valuable she is to the Northwestern Wildcats in the team's 68–63 victory over Rutgers. Burton led her team in most statistical categories, but perhaps the most astounding statistic was her 40 minutes played in the game. For those unfamiliar with how many minutes are in a game at the collegiate level, that is all of them.
"If it happens, it happens," Burton said. "I'm just trying to do what I can to help the team."
The game saw plenty of positive moments for a Wildcat team that was coming off of a 74–61 loss against Ohio State. Rutgers proved to be a formidable opponent, but Northwestern was able to control the lead for most of the game en route to its 11th win on the season.
The Scarlett Knights started out hot with two quick three pointers to open up the game, and would hold five and six-point leads at different points in the first quarter, but the Wildcats continuously clawed back and only trailed 11–10 when the buzzer sounded. This put Northwestern within a position to pounce, but the Scarlet Knights kept up a consistent lead for the beginning stages of the second quarter.
Burton responded and led a flurry of scoring for the Wildcats that saw them grasp a lead and expand upon it quickly. The Wildcats were able to utilize an 11–0 run to clench a 23–17 lead, and continued to build upon this advantage as a result of solid scoring from Burton, junior guard Laya Hartman and senior forward Courtney Shaw. In the end, this led to a 32–25 halftime lead for the Wildcats.
A big key to the comeback was tenacious defense on behalf of the Wildcats. The Scarlet Knights were continuously on the verge of shot clock violations and even did have a few occur which helped the momentum shift towards Northwestern.
"Going into this game, a big point of emphasis was our defense," Shaw said. "We knew they were going to be methodical and use the shot clock, that is how they play. We were just trying to play until the last seconds on the clock and make it difficult to execute."
Burton led all scoring at the half with 10 points, while the Scarlet Knights were guided by eight points each from senior guard Lasha Petree and graduate student forward Osh Brown.
The Wildcats picked up right where they had left off when the second half began and started to build a lead that peaked as high as 15. Rutgers was able to limit the damage and keep the score approachable, but Northwestern was able to have a comfortable 53–46 lead when the third quarter turned into the fourth.
The Scarlet Knights began their quest to get back in the game in the fourth quarter and were able to get within one point with just over 1:30 left in the game. After multiple possessions without any scoring, freshman guard Melanie Daley came up with a big steal and finished a layup to extend the Wildcats lead to 66–63 with 43.7 seconds remaining. A Scarlet Knight turnover followed, and Burton earned two additional free-throws to expand the Wildcats lead to five.
This would be the extent of the scoring and Northwestern would walk away with a 68–63 victory. Burton led the way for the Wildcats with 18 points and Caileigh Walsh was next in line with 13 points. Rutgers were led by Brown who had 22 points and sophomore guard Joiya Maddox was next in line for the Scarlet Knights with 12.
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown said that the team was able to stay mentally strong in the waning seconds and that this was key for securing the win.
"Rutgers is a team that can make a run,"McKeown said. "They hit some threes and even had a four-point play, but we kept our composure. We got to the foul line, Mel made a big play from a steal and we took it from there. I felt we kept our poise more than anything else and I am proud of them."
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