Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats' Pressure Defense Shutting Down Opponents
11/20/2015 11:21:00 AM | Women's Basketball
By Amit Mallik
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Wildcats relied on a dominant defensive performance Thursday to blow by the Idaho State Bengals, 72-36.
The 36 points allowed matched the Wildcats' second lowest in the Joe McKeown era, with the lowest being a 70-33 win over Loyola last season. Coach McKeown highlighted the defensive performance in his post-game press conference.
"I thought we did a good job defensively and I liked our effort," he said. "That's what we're preaching between now and when we start the Big Ten: Just get better on defense."
The Wildcats held Idaho State to 26.9 percent shooting from the field, allowing 14 of 52 shots. Last year the Wildcats allowed 62 points per game with an average of 37.3 percent shooting from the field.
In particular, they shut down the Bengals' ability to shoot the three, holding them to 1-15 from beyong the arc. In their last game, Northwestern similarly held Howard to 0-19 three point shooting. Through two games, opponents' low three-point percentage has been an impressive highlight.
"We've worked a lot on closing out on the perimeter," said senior guard Maggie Lyon. "We still have a long way to go, but I think our pressure has been really good."
The Wildcats' suffocating half-court defense started last night with point guard Ashley Deary, who racked up an impressive seven steals in a strong all-around game. Her lateral quickness and fast hands allowed her to pick up opposing ball handlers at half-court and force them into turnovers and bad shots. Deary also contributed with five rebounds.
"She has great basketball instincts and can anticipate where the ball is going to be," Coach McKeown said of Deary's ability to rebound the ball despite her stature at 5 feet 4 inches.
Northwestern put in a strong rebounding performance against Idaho State with a 53-37 advantage after being outrebounded in the season opener against Howard. The rebounding advantage was a sign that the Wildcats were finishing defensive possessions and not allowing Idaho State second chances after missed shots.
Nia Coffey led the way on the boards with 18 rebounds, tied for her career high. She also had two blocks. Her interior defense so far has been a highlight of the season, showcasing her true ability as a two-way player.
"We're trying to have the mentality of crashing the boards and just being a really good rebounding team," Coffey said. "In practice it's about team defense and rebounding. We're just trying to keep our intensity up and be aggressive on the defensive end. We want to make sure we can do that against teams in the Big Ten."
The Wildcats never allowed more than 11 points in a quarter on Thursday and held the Bengals to nine in the fourth quarter and just five in the first. Coffey's two blocks came in the first quarter, as did two of Deary's steals.
On top of forcing bad shots, the Wildcats came away with 23 forced turnovers. Lyon added a couple steals as did Christen Inman, who had two in the first quarter. The entire team was swarming the ball on traps and presses, and many Idaho State possessions ended without a shot.
While the Wildcats hope their offense will improve heading into the next few weeks, they can build off their impressive defensive performances so far this year.
EVANSTON, Ill. - The Wildcats relied on a dominant defensive performance Thursday to blow by the Idaho State Bengals, 72-36.
The 36 points allowed matched the Wildcats' second lowest in the Joe McKeown era, with the lowest being a 70-33 win over Loyola last season. Coach McKeown highlighted the defensive performance in his post-game press conference.
"I thought we did a good job defensively and I liked our effort," he said. "That's what we're preaching between now and when we start the Big Ten: Just get better on defense."
The Wildcats held Idaho State to 26.9 percent shooting from the field, allowing 14 of 52 shots. Last year the Wildcats allowed 62 points per game with an average of 37.3 percent shooting from the field.
In particular, they shut down the Bengals' ability to shoot the three, holding them to 1-15 from beyong the arc. In their last game, Northwestern similarly held Howard to 0-19 three point shooting. Through two games, opponents' low three-point percentage has been an impressive highlight.
"We've worked a lot on closing out on the perimeter," said senior guard Maggie Lyon. "We still have a long way to go, but I think our pressure has been really good."
The Wildcats' suffocating half-court defense started last night with point guard Ashley Deary, who racked up an impressive seven steals in a strong all-around game. Her lateral quickness and fast hands allowed her to pick up opposing ball handlers at half-court and force them into turnovers and bad shots. Deary also contributed with five rebounds.
"She has great basketball instincts and can anticipate where the ball is going to be," Coach McKeown said of Deary's ability to rebound the ball despite her stature at 5 feet 4 inches.
Northwestern put in a strong rebounding performance against Idaho State with a 53-37 advantage after being outrebounded in the season opener against Howard. The rebounding advantage was a sign that the Wildcats were finishing defensive possessions and not allowing Idaho State second chances after missed shots.
Nia Coffey led the way on the boards with 18 rebounds, tied for her career high. She also had two blocks. Her interior defense so far has been a highlight of the season, showcasing her true ability as a two-way player.
"We're trying to have the mentality of crashing the boards and just being a really good rebounding team," Coffey said. "In practice it's about team defense and rebounding. We're just trying to keep our intensity up and be aggressive on the defensive end. We want to make sure we can do that against teams in the Big Ten."
The Wildcats never allowed more than 11 points in a quarter on Thursday and held the Bengals to nine in the fourth quarter and just five in the first. Coffey's two blocks came in the first quarter, as did two of Deary's steals.
On top of forcing bad shots, the Wildcats came away with 23 forced turnovers. Lyon added a couple steals as did Christen Inman, who had two in the first quarter. The entire team was swarming the ball on traps and presses, and many Idaho State possessions ended without a shot.
While the Wildcats hope their offense will improve heading into the next few weeks, they can build off their impressive defensive performances so far this year.
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