The 'Cats didn't have quite enough gas at the end of the game to get the job done on senior day
It was a big day at Welsh-Ryan Arena, where Northwestern lost to Purdue by a score of 67-62.
Joe McKeown, Northwestern's head coach since 2008, coached his final game today. While the 'Cats didn't get the result they wanted, they competed admirably for their coach in his last contest of a fantastic career.
Not to be overshadowed by McKeown, today was also senior day. You could sense that the leaders on the team, players like Caroline Lau and Grace Sullivan, wanted to leave it all out on the court for their coach and their teammates today.
Lau was incredible all day. She had some turnover problems, but the ball was in her hands all afternoon, and she seemed to welcome the challenge. Lau finished with 19 points and 13 assists. She shot the ball 7-of-12 front the field, and she went 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, giving Northwestern a massive offensive boost.
Northwestern began the festivities celebrating its senior class -- Sullivan, Lau, Tate Lash, DaiJa Turner, Sammy White and Lauren Trumpy. The players got a nice ovation from the Welsh-Ryan crowd as they stood on the court with their families. McKeown's celebration would come after the game.
For the 'Cats, this was an opportunity to play spoiler. Northwestern was already eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention, but Purdue was not. The Boilermakers needed a win to ensure they stayed in the final slot.
The first half was the Lau show. The Wildcat's senior point guard was fantastic to start the game, entering the locker room with 13 points and six assists. On top of that, she had just one turnover, an area of her game that she's struggled with throughout her time here.
Behind her performance, and some additional production from the usual suspects (Grace Sullivan and Casey Harter), Northwestern hung with the Boilermakers all half. At the end of the first, it trailed 18-14, but it had evened the score at 30 by the time the clock hit zero on the second quarter.
The first half was a bit sloppy, but that was the case on both sides as both squads entered the break with a whopping 11 turnovers. That's a shocking total for both teams to have in just one half of basketball.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Northwestern went into a bit of an offensive tailspin. By the time the game reached the mid-quarter media timeout, Purdue and stretched out a 41-33 lead with 4:55 to play. Lau turned the ball over a couple of times, and shots simply weren't falling for anyone.
But then, Lau got right back at it. First, she nailed an open three. Then, she found Xamiya Walton for another triple on a just absurd cross-court pass. Her vision was on full display all day, and it helped NU climb back to 49-44 entering the final frame of action.
On the first possession of the deciding quarter, Lau canned another three, her FIFTH of the game. All the sudden, the 'Cats found themselves in a one possession game.
Northwestern kept it about there for a large portion of the fourth quarter, but the Boilermakers were able to lengthen it back out again to 63-58 with 2:24. Lau giveth, and Lau giveth the ball away, as a brutal turnover did hurt the Wildcats at around the three-minute mark.
But as she did all day, she put her head right back down and went back to work. She had a massive steal with just over a minute to play that led to a lay-up, and NU was back to trailing 63-60 with 1:10 remaining.
The 'Cats just couldn't hit the clutch shots in the final moments of the game to complete the comeback. Sullivan missed 15-footer. Kat Righeimer missed a three, and Purdue was able to shut the door.