Thursday, February 20
Evanston, Ill.
6:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern
9-16,2-12Big Ten
79
vs
85
Maryland
21-6,11-5Big Ten
1
2
3
4
F
Maryland
22
26
15
22
85
Northwestern
15
15
23
26
79
Photo by: Mary Grace Grabill/Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern’s Furious Comeback Falls Short In 85-79 Loss To No. 21 Maryland
2/20/2025 11:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Williams surpasses 1,000 career rebounds in setback
EVANSTON, Ill. (February 20, 2025) – Taylor Williams ripped down her 1,000th career rebound as Northwestern (9-16, 2-12 B1G) showed tremendous heart, cutting a 21-point third-quarter deficit down to four in the closing minutes, in an 85-79 defeat to No. 21 Maryland (21-6, 11-5 B1G) this evening inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
How It Happened
Kyla Jones got the 'Cats off and running with 41 seconds gone, scoring off a find from Caroline Lau to put Northwestern in front, 2-0. The Wildcats' bench looked to provide an early spark, with Grace Sullivan converting off a feed from Melannie Daley to make it 8-8 before Daley received a friendly roll on a jumper to bring the hosts back within three, 13-10. A turnaround jumper from Williams trimmed the deficit to one, 13-12, but Maryland closed the frame with a 9-3 spurt, capped off by a Kaylene Smikle layup that gave the visitors a 22-15 lead.
Williams attacked inside only 11 seconds into the second quarter, finishing in the paint to cut the Terrapins' advantage to 22-17. A Saylor Poffenbarger layup sparked an 8-0 Maryland run that saw the Terrapins establish a double-digit lead, 30-18, at the 8:10 mark. Back-to-back buckets from Daley and Caileigh Walsh pulled the 'Cats within eight, 30-22, before the Terrapins responded with seven unanswered points to stretch their lead to 37-22. Maryland kept its foot on the gas the rest half, surging into the locker room with a 48-30 advantage at halftime.
Following a Smikle trey that gave Maryland their largest lead of the night, 53-32, a Walsh layup provided the foundation for an 11-0 Northwestern tear, a run capped off by a Daley mid-range jumper that closed Maryland's lead to 53-43 near the midway point of the frame. The 'Cats continued to hang tough throughout the remainder of the third quarter, with two Casey Harter makes at the charity stripe in the closing seconds trimming the deficit to 63-53.
Staring at a 13-point hole, 72-59, with only five minutes remaining in regulation, Northwestern amped up its pressure on the defensive end to quickly chip away. An old-fashioned three-point play from Daley ignited a 7-0 run over only a 28-second span. Daley and Harter both went on to convert on layups off steals resulting from full-court pressure, with the latter's score making it a six-point game, 72-66, at the 4:20 mark. Another swipe-and-score from Daley brought the margin to only four, 74-70. With the Maryland lead sitting at 79-74 with 90 seconds to go, Sarah Te-Biasu drilled a backbreaking three with the shot clock winding down to give the Terrapins breathing room, 82-74. Northwestern would get no closer than five the rest of the night, as Maryland escaped Welsh-Ryan Arena with its 21st victory of the season.
Gallery: (2-20-2025) Women's Basketball vs. No. 21 Maryland
Inside The Box Score
- Daley finished just a point off her season high, pacing the 'Cats with 22 points (10-17 FGs, 2-3 FTs), in addition to six rebounds, four assists, and a season-high tying four steals.
- Daley has reached the 20-point mark on four occasions this season, a mark that leads all Wildcats.
- Williams battled at both ends of the floor, finishing with 18 points (6-8 FGs, 6-10 FTs), 10 rebounds, a block, and two steals.
- Williams, who notched her 10th double-double of 2024-25 this evening, currently has 1,004 career rebounds to her name, a mark that ranks fifth amongst active Big Ten players.
- Lau posted a double-double of her own, closing her night with 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
- The current Big Ten leader in assists, Lau has four-games with 10-plus helpers this season.
- Walsh added 15 points (5-14 FGs, 1-2 3FGs, 4-4 FTs), while Sullivan chipped in 11 points (3-7 FGs, 5-6 FTs) to round out a group of four 'Cats to score in double figures.
- Smikle led Maryland with a game-high 23 points (7-15 FGs, 1-6 3FGs, 8-11 FTs).
Up Next
Northwestern hits the road for the final time in 2024-25 when it visits Wisconsin for a 2 p.m. CT tip-off on Sunday, February 23 inside the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
How It Happened
Kyla Jones got the 'Cats off and running with 41 seconds gone, scoring off a find from Caroline Lau to put Northwestern in front, 2-0. The Wildcats' bench looked to provide an early spark, with Grace Sullivan converting off a feed from Melannie Daley to make it 8-8 before Daley received a friendly roll on a jumper to bring the hosts back within three, 13-10. A turnaround jumper from Williams trimmed the deficit to one, 13-12, but Maryland closed the frame with a 9-3 spurt, capped off by a Kaylene Smikle layup that gave the visitors a 22-15 lead.
Williams attacked inside only 11 seconds into the second quarter, finishing in the paint to cut the Terrapins' advantage to 22-17. A Saylor Poffenbarger layup sparked an 8-0 Maryland run that saw the Terrapins establish a double-digit lead, 30-18, at the 8:10 mark. Back-to-back buckets from Daley and Caileigh Walsh pulled the 'Cats within eight, 30-22, before the Terrapins responded with seven unanswered points to stretch their lead to 37-22. Maryland kept its foot on the gas the rest half, surging into the locker room with a 48-30 advantage at halftime.
Following a Smikle trey that gave Maryland their largest lead of the night, 53-32, a Walsh layup provided the foundation for an 11-0 Northwestern tear, a run capped off by a Daley mid-range jumper that closed Maryland's lead to 53-43 near the midway point of the frame. The 'Cats continued to hang tough throughout the remainder of the third quarter, with two Casey Harter makes at the charity stripe in the closing seconds trimming the deficit to 63-53.
Staring at a 13-point hole, 72-59, with only five minutes remaining in regulation, Northwestern amped up its pressure on the defensive end to quickly chip away. An old-fashioned three-point play from Daley ignited a 7-0 run over only a 28-second span. Daley and Harter both went on to convert on layups off steals resulting from full-court pressure, with the latter's score making it a six-point game, 72-66, at the 4:20 mark. Another swipe-and-score from Daley brought the margin to only four, 74-70. With the Maryland lead sitting at 79-74 with 90 seconds to go, Sarah Te-Biasu drilled a backbreaking three with the shot clock winding down to give the Terrapins breathing room, 82-74. Northwestern would get no closer than five the rest of the night, as Maryland escaped Welsh-Ryan Arena with its 21st victory of the season.
Inside The Box Score
- Daley finished just a point off her season high, pacing the 'Cats with 22 points (10-17 FGs, 2-3 FTs), in addition to six rebounds, four assists, and a season-high tying four steals.
- Daley has reached the 20-point mark on four occasions this season, a mark that leads all Wildcats.
- Williams battled at both ends of the floor, finishing with 18 points (6-8 FGs, 6-10 FTs), 10 rebounds, a block, and two steals.
- Williams, who notched her 10th double-double of 2024-25 this evening, currently has 1,004 career rebounds to her name, a mark that ranks fifth amongst active Big Ten players.
- Lau posted a double-double of her own, closing her night with 10 assists and 11 rebounds.
- The current Big Ten leader in assists, Lau has four-games with 10-plus helpers this season.
- Walsh added 15 points (5-14 FGs, 1-2 3FGs, 4-4 FTs), while Sullivan chipped in 11 points (3-7 FGs, 5-6 FTs) to round out a group of four 'Cats to score in double figures.
- Smikle led Maryland with a game-high 23 points (7-15 FGs, 1-6 3FGs, 8-11 FTs).
Up Next
Northwestern hits the road for the final time in 2024-25 when it visits Wisconsin for a 2 p.m. CT tip-off on Sunday, February 23 inside the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Team Stats
MD
NU
FG%
.380
.474
3FG%
.346
.250
FT%
.846
.686
RB
41
39
TO
17
22
STL
9
11
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballJoe McKeown Joins B1G Today (7/14/25)
Thursday, July 17
Women's Basketball - Nebraska Postgame Press Conference
Sunday, March 02
Women's Basketball - 'Cats Furious Comeback Falls Short In 85-79 Loss To No. 21 Maryland (2/20/25)
Friday, February 21
Women's Basketball | Maryland Postgame Press Conference
Friday, February 21
