NFL
By: Jeffrey Newholm
What does “supposed” mean? It’s an annoying word. A seven seed is supposed to play flat against an elite #2 like Louisville. Northwestern is supposed to be too smart, too slow, and too small. However, for one magnificent quarter, the lady Wildcats struck that S-word from the dictionary. NW blitzed the Final Four favorite with a dazzling rash of live-ball fast breaks and layups, earning a startling first-quarter lead.
That's a first quarter if we've ever seen one. #GoCats x #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/y6ZALoa9oa
— Northwestern Women’s Basketball (@nuwbball) March 24, 2021
This reporter always thought the story of the tortoise and the hare to be silly. Unfortunately, the lady Cardinals proved otherwise. Possession by possesion, Louisville slowly fought back into the game. Northwestern lost its energy and enthusiasm, and the Cards made enough plays to disappoint underdog lovers everywhere with a 62-53 triumph.
40 Minutes
When this reporter tried to ask NW coach Joe McKeown what the team could learn from such a competitive outcome, the leader was in no mood to bright-side the letdown. “You got to play 40 minutes,” McKeown observed, and “they [Louisville] made just big shots in the fourth quarter and we just couldn’t play through that.” The biggest lesson (considering every game is a learning opportunity)? “I think that’s the biggest lesson, that we let them back in the game.”
McKeown coached 19 successful seasons at George Washington before arriving in Evanston. The Wildcats made the NCAAs in 2015 and the WNIT final in 2019. Tragically, NW won the Big Ten in 2020, but couldn’t compete in the national playoffs because of the coronavirus cancellation. When ESPN called their names on selection Monday, however, there was no containing the ladies’ and coach’s excitement (although LaChina Robinson questioned the skills of McKeown’s dancing).
Northwestern Belongs
The Cats bested mid-major stalwart UCF in the first round Monday, earning a matchup with Lousiville, who had rallied to defeat Marist. Although the team spent too much energy in the first quarter, there’s no doubt in the program that the near-miss is the beginning of an excellence trend. When a scribe asked rising Senior Veronica Burton what her team could learn from the playoffs, she stated, “a lot of people underestimated Northwestern.” Foolish yet, alas, true. However, she continued: “we have a lot of potential and we belong here.”
A school without an NCAA win since 1993 is not “supposed” to be ten minutes away from beating a top-eight seed. But if the Wildcats learns from disappointment and makes needed pacing corrections, a new S-phrase may enter the school’s dictionary for the first time: Sweet 16.
