Evaluating Northwestern women’s basketball one month into the season

For Northwestern women’s basketball, 2025-26 has had a far smoother start than 2024-25.

The ‘Cats currently sit at 6-1, with their lone loss coming to a power conference opponent in Missouri. Contrast that with the 1-3 start from a season ago featuring losses to Illinois State, Lehigh and Harvard, and it’s easy to see the improvement — at least on paper — of this Wildcat squad.

The success of the Wildcats, unsurprisingly, has often been due to Grace Sullivan. The 6-foot-4 senior forward has simply been relentless, putting up 22.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game in 35.1 minutes of action. In a year where NU has less depth in the post following the exits of Taylor Williams and Caileigh Walsh, Sullivan has taken the lead, singlehandedly establishing dominance for the ‘Cats inside.

That’s not to diminish the role that Tayla Thomas has played, however. The sophomore forward currently leads all Big Ten players with an impressive 11.1 rebounds per game. Thomas has garnered 11 or more rebounds in five of seven contests, and her highlight performance came against DePaul, where she racked up 18 boards to go alongside 11 points.

At times, the ‘Cats have gotten sparks from a wide variety of other players as well. Xamiya Walton stepped up in the opening 67-64 victory over IU Indy, putting up 17 points and five assists on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. Casey Harter came through in a similar way against Maryland Eastern Shore, with 19 points, eight rebounds and a 5-of-7 mark from three. Even Claire Keswick had a stellar performance, going 6-of-14 from distance to put up 18 points in the victory over Cleveland State.

When looking solely at the positives, it seems like things are looking up in Wildcat head coach Joe McKeown’s final season. In many ways, they certainly are, but major question marks surrounding this team still loom.

The Wildcats, ideally, need to find more ways to generate consistent three-point production. Although Walton, Harter and Keswick have flashed this season, NU still ranks dead-last in the Big Ten with a 30% three-point percentage. That number has been weighed down by rough outside shooting starts to the season for Caroline Lau (7-of-28 from three) and Tate Lash (4-of-17).

Both players have the ability to knock down shots from time to time, but their lack of production so far has been concerning given the number of minutes they take up in starting roles. Northwestern’s weakness of three-point shooting has so far carried over from last campaign, where the Wildcats shot just 28.6% from distance. There’s plenty of season left, but given that NU has even struggled against weak non-conference opponents, it’s fair to be concerned that a lack of three-point success will hinder this team once again.

At times, turnovers have also been an issue for this team. NU did well at limiting giveaways with just 10 against Missouri, but it has had games that featured major struggles, such as the 19-turnover game against IU Indy, the 22-turnover game against DePaul and the 21-turnover game against Abilene Christian. Success in rebounding (with an average rebound margin of +6.3) has helped the ‘Cats offset these woes when their opponents are missing shots, but against many Big Ten teams, ball security will still have to be a major point of emphasis.

The last major concern that Wildcat fans should have surrounds the team’s depth. As discussed in yesterday’s Fort Myers takeaways article, McKeown has seemed less and less willing to go to his reserves as the season progresses.

While utilizing less depth over time is natural for coaches who seek to prepare for tough conferences like the Big Ten, it is concerning that NU hasn’t yet found a reliable off-the-bench option at either guard or forward. Even last season, the ‘Cats managed to garner production from their sixth player given their forward depth with Williams, Sullivan and Walsh. This year, there’s no clear first option off the bench outside of Xamiya Walton, who has elevated her scoring and ball-handling ability but still seeks to find more consistency in her role.

Against Missouri, it was a fourth-quarter collapse that sank the ‘Cats, and fourth-quarter collapses are all too familiar for a team that struggled mightily in those situations last year. It’s possible some of those difficulties could be remedied with more reliable scoring off the bench. Walton could very well be the solution, as she’s looked solid overall in 2025-26, but McKeown should look to other players, such as Keswick and DaiJa Turner, to make higher-level impacts as well.

On the bright side, it’s clear that Northwestern has found a true superstar in Sullivan. It remains to be seen whether the ‘Cats can build around her adequately, but Sullivan’s presence alone still provides a high floor that should make this team fun to watch in Big Ten play. Other players have stood out as well, but as conference play nears, the Wildcats are still trying to put all the pieces together.

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