Wildcats could become 'best of the rest' in Saturday's WNIT championship game
It's been a wild ride for the Wildcats.
The Northwestern women's basketball team was supposed to be done after the first round of the Big Ten tournament in early March. The Wildcats lost their first game to Michigan State on March 7 to move to 16-14 on the season.
Season over, right?
No NCAA tournament for Northwestern.
Alas, the WNIT tournament came calling and Northwestern accepted an invitation to the 64-team tournament that includes the next best teams in the country after the 64 that made the NCAA tournament.
And Saturday, six games later, the Wildcats (21-14) have the chance to become the absolute best of the rest, to finish the season as one of just two teams in the country (the other being the NCAA champion) to finish with a victory.
"I mean, we're playing in April. We're very excited," said Northwestern coach Joe McKeown, whose team has extended March Madness beyond March. "To win this, it would be very special for our program. We're excited because we're growing our fan base. This run has given our kids a lot of confidence, and this is going to be a great springboard for next year."
Northwestern, about to play its fourth of six WNIT games on the road, will face host Arizona in the championship at 2 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.
Arizona is playing its sixth straight WNIT game at home.
The WNIT is not seeded, and games are played on campus sites based on potential attendance. A crowd of 10,000 watched Arizona defeat TCU in its semifinal. A crowd of 12,000 is expected for the title game against Northwestern.
With Northwestern on spring break for much of the WNIT tournament, the Wildcats couldn't guarantee large crowds and have been forced mostly to the road.
"We've been battle-tested for sure," McKeown said. "We've spent so much time together, on buses, in the hotels, traveling all around. And we've had some tough games against teams that really did a great job of getting fans out. Our games at Toledo and West Virginia had nice crowds. It's been good for our kids and their souls.
"I think our kids have shown a lot of resolve to win this thing."
A win would give the Wildcats their first national championship of any kind in women's basketball. Their place in this game is their furthest advancement in postseason play in program history.
"(The championship game berth) shows how great we can be," said sophomore guard Lindsey Pulliam, Northwestern's leading scorer at 16.6 points per game and a first team all-Big Ten selection. "We haven't scratched the surface of how great we can be. It's a huge confidence boost for us going into next year, and I think we'll be even better, hopefully be contenders in the Big Ten."
Looking ahead: With this extended postseason run, Northwestern is setting the stage for high expectations for the 2019-20 season.
And only one player won't be back for the ride.
Granted, senior forward Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah from Nigeria will be a big loss. She is averaging a double-double on the season with 11.1 points and 11.2 rebounds per game, and she just logged her 19th double-double on the season in the WNIT semifinal win over James Madison.
Kunaiyi-Akpanah was a first team all-Big Ten selection along with Pulliam. She has grabbed more than 1,000 rebounds in her career.
"When we beat Indiana on Senior Night, so many people were there to see Pallas and support her," Northwestern coach Joe McKeown said. "She's meant a lot to our program."
Fabulous freshman: They are called "first years" at Northwestern.
Whatever you call her, "first year," "freshman," "rookie," or "diaper dandy," guard Veronica Burton has had a great start to her college career.
An early injury to highly touted redshirt "first year" Lauryn Satterwhite opened the door to more playing time for Burton, and she took advantage.
Burton has started 30 of 35 games for the Wildcats and has averaged about 8 points per game. She leads the team in steals (2.1 spg) and assists (3.1 apg) and ranks second on the team in 3-pointers with 43 on the season. "Veronica has had an incredible year," McKeown said. "She has been just fearless. She has made big shots, big free throws in big games, especially in our WNIT games. She is very mature, and doesn't play like a freshman.
"I just really like her tenacity and confidence."
Finally healthy: A big key to Northwestern's run to the WNIT championship has been health.
Three starters for Northwestern missed nearly a month each over the course of the season with various injuries/illnesses.
Junior forward Abi Scheid was out about four weeks with a foot injury. Sophomore guard Jordan Hamilton was out about a month with shin and ankle problems and freshman guard Veronica Burton was out about a month with mono.
The WNIT run has extended Northwestern's season long enough for everyone to get back to full strength.
"We've had a lot of different lineups this season," coach Joe McKeown said. "To get these starters back has been huge. We knew going into this season that if we could have everyone together, we could be pretty good."
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