Northwestern women’s basketball 2020-21 player reviews: Lauryn Satterwhite

Though not a member of the usual starting five, Lauryn Satterwhite was a reliable contributor in Joe Mckeown’s rotation this season. Making an appearance in 25 games, the redshirt junior nearly doubled her stat-line from last year while providing much-needed bursts of energy off the bench.

While her time was limited in the more difficult matchups of the early regular season, Satterwhite played significant minutes in both the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments. The upward trend in her stats and increasing involvement during games demonstrated solid improvement on both ends of the court as her college career came to a close.

Stats

The following statistics were taken from HerHoopStats.com.

Satterwhite doubled her minutes off the bench this year, averaging 10.8 per game, allowing her more time to have a meaningful impact. However, despite improvement from last season, her stat-line places her in about the middle of the current lineup. Nonetheless, it is important to consider that Satterwhite falls into a group of very talented Wildcat guards alongside Veronica Burton, Jordan Hamilton and Lindsey Pulliam.

The redshirt junior connected on about one-third of her field-goal attempts and collected boards evenly at both ends of the court. Additionally, Satterwhite posted a career-high nine points, each from beyond the arc, against Illinois in late February. Even though her numbers don’t necessarily compare to some of the stats of the usual starting five, they do not represent the 100% effort she gave every time she stepped foot on the court.

Shot Distribution

If her three-point loaded performance against the Illini wasn’t an indicator of Satterwhite’s affinity for shooting threes, her shooting stats from this year should be. The Arizona native boasted an unusual 58.2% of her points from deep and managed the second-best three-point percentage on the team, just 0.5% below Burton at 30.2%. Though Satterwhite’s three-point ability is respectable, her two-point percentage is below average at just under 35%.

The Good

Satterwhite’s energy off the bench was pivotal in several regular and post-season matchups. When the Wildcat guards needed a break or got into foul trouble, she came in a hit many crucial threes down the stretch of the season. With such a loaded guard unit, she did not get as many minutes as her teammates, but her role as the seventh man became critical, as she played similar minutes to Byrdy Galernik from last season. As the season progressed, she became much more active on the court and had a few shining moments as her career wound down.

The Bad

While strong beyond the arc, Satterwhite continued to struggle to finish from shorter range. Only about 30% of her shot attempts came from the paint this season, scoring on only 10 of 29 attempts. However, for a team that struggled greatly with three-point shooting and has others who excel in the short- and mid-range, Satterwhite knew her role and executed.

The Bottom Line

It is clear McKeown put more faith in Satterwhite this season as her improved stat-line indicates. While she did not see the court often in her first few years in Evanston, she became a much more reliable contributor in her final few months on the team. Despite only being a redshirt junior and having another year of eligibility, Satterwhite was honored on Senior Day, and her time at Northwestern is likely over. Her energy and bursts off the bench will be missed as the Wildcats will turn to younger players to fill her shoes.