Northwestern women’s basketball looked like it would manage its fourth straight victory on Monday after dominating early. Instead, the ‘Cats had to survive a fourth-quarter nightmare before escaping DePaul
79-72 at Wintrust Arena.
Grace Sullivan exploded with a game-high 26 points, while Caroline Lau erupted for 20 points, her second-highest career scoring output. Tayla Thomas added 11 points of her own with an astonishing 18 rebounds. But those performances nearly weren’t enough as the ‘Cats watched their 19-point lead evaporate in a disastrous fourth.
For the first three quarters, Northwestern played its brand of basketball. The ‘Cats kept attacking the rim early, building leads through aggressive drives and second-chance opportunities. Sullivan was highly productive as usual, working the post with her signature hook shots and floaters. Lau sparked the offense immediately, drilling an early three-pointer and orchestrating the attack with precision. Xamiya Walton provided a spark off the bench with seven points, which was all of Northwestern’s bench points.
Lau’s performance was particularly significant. Her 20-point outburst represented a dramatic surge from her first three games, where she averaged just 4.0 points per contest and was held scoreless in the season opener against IU Indy. The offensive passivity that plagued her junior season — when she plummeted from 7.8 points on 40.6% shooting as a sophomore to 4.9 points on 28.1% shooting — raised concerns about whether she could rediscover her scoring touch. Monday’s game shattered those doubts, proving that when Lau asserts herself as a scorer, Northwestern transforms into a far more dangerous team.
And don’t forget about her facilitating pedigree. Lau’s nine assists demonstrated that her passing and vision remained intact. Instead of abandoning her playmaking responsibilities in pursuit of points, she found the balance that makes her most effective.
“We know (Caroline) was a very good basketball player, and she does an excellent job running that team and distributing the basketball,” DePaul head coach Jill M. Pizzotti said in the postgame. “And I thought today, she took good advantage of when she was open, and she had an aggressive scoring mentality.”
As Northwestern kept the pressure on, DePaul switched to a full-court press midway through the second quarter, attempting to speed up the ‘Cats’ offense and force mistakes. The Blue Demons capitalized on a few Northwestern turnovers to claw back some points, but the ‘Cats’ stalwarts responded every time. Lau broke through the pressure with poise, Tate Lash converted tough buckets through contact and Thomas grabbed crucial offensive rebounds. Northwestern took a 46-32 cushion into halftime.
The dominance continued in the third quarter. Northwestern dismantled DePaul’s defensive schemes, with Lau delivering long passes through the press for easy transition baskets. The lead inflated to 19 points as the ‘Cats’ defense locked down the Blue Demons and Sullivan continued her efficient scoring in the post.
Then everything fell apart.
DePaul’s persistent full-court pressure finally cracked Northwestern’s composure at the start of the fourth quarter. The ‘Cats gave up 10 turnovers in the frame as the Blue Demons’ aggressive trapping forced hurried passes and led to possessions lost. Meanwhile, Northwestern went ice-cold offensively, failing to score a field goal for over six minutes while DePaul kept rallying with tough buckets in transition.
“I feel really proud about (our) press defense, and we want to make them roll out because we were down 19 points,” DePaul guard Kate Novik said. “So we really tried to close this gap and close the game.”
A pivotal moment came after Thomas was fouled hard by Natiah Nelson, triggering a brief scuffle on the court. Following a lengthy video review, both teams received a flagrant foul that awarded two free-throws for each.
Northwestern converted just one of two while DePaul knocked down both, and the momentum completely shifted to the home side. The Blue Demons scored the next two baskets to cut the margin to 68-64, and suddenly Northwestern’s comfortable lead had vanished while it remained offensively dormant.
“I had told the team to continue to play hard (during the video review),” Pizzoti said. “It’s a big rivalry game. And I think it’s great to see our ladies and Northwestern ladies out there fighting hard to get a win, but it’s really just about staying aggressive, staying clean.”
With 3:29 remaining, Northwestern finally awoke. Lau came alive with movement and passing, finding Sullivan in the paint for a crucial field goal that broke the drought. After a defensive stop, Thomas converted a cutting layup to rebuild a seven-point advantage. When the Blue Demons answered with Novik’s and-one to make it a four-point game again, Northwestern was unfazed this time. The ‘Cats weathered DePaul’s final attacks while responding with scores in whatever form necessary. The late-game prowess sealed an escape win that felt far more precarious than it should have.
