For Northwestern women’s basketball head coach Joe McKeown, Sunday’s return to his former school provided closure for a decorated head coaching career that spanned five decades.
“It was so surreal to be here,” McKeown said postgame. “I didn’t even know where to sit with the bench. I was walking around like a zombie.”
Unfortunately for the Wildcats, the pregame festivities did not translate into on-court success. With a number of key inactives for Sunday’s contest, Northwestern did not manage to establish
road momentum, falling 75-62 to the George Washington Revolutionaries.
Sunday’s defeat was the sixth straight loss for the ‘Cats, officially dropping them back to .500 after a 6-0 tear to start the year. The loss also officially ended NU’s non-conference slate, with the Wildcats’ next matchup taking place on Dec. 29 against Washington.
The ‘Cats had plenty of solid moments. But ultimately, the absences of Grace Sullivan, Casey Harter and DaiJa Turner proved too much to overcome.
In the first quarter, things quickly began on the wrong foot, especially on the offensive end. Tayla Thomas began the game with a quick jumper, but from that point forward, the Wildcats did not make a field goal for the next 7:52. Free throws and solid defense kept them around somewhat, but before a Kat Righeimer layup with 1:41 remaining in the first frame, the Revolutionaries had already taken a 13-7 lead.
From there, GW didn’t look back. The ‘Cats never led after their 2-0 start, and George Washington continued to pile on, securing a plus-10 rebound advantage and knocking down eight threes en route to victory.
The Revolutionaries capitalized on a relatively inexperienced 10-player Northwestern rotation with stingy defense. They held the ‘Cats to 37% shooting from the field, doing a good job of shutting down lanes into the paint. And they didn’t hesitate to double Tayla Thomas, the only active Wildcat forward with notable minutes this season.
To her credit, Thomas still put up 17 points and seven rebounds, but she looked frustrated throughout the game, frequently facing extra defenders and physical defense every time the ball was in her hands. In the end, the sophomore forward shot just 7-of-20 from the field and was 3-of-6 from the line.
With Sullivan out of the lineup and Thomas receiving heavy defensive attention, the ‘Cats needed to find other scorers in the lineup. Sometimes, they did: Caroline Lau, for example, had a solid shooting day with 17 points on 7-of-14 from the field and 3-of-6 from three. Lau tacked on eight rebounds and six assists, but she also had six turnovers, a mark she hadn’t reached since Dec. 4, 2024 against DePaul.
There were spurts of production from other players as well. First-year Angelina Hodgens shot tallied 12 points along with five rebounds and two steals, tying or exceeding her previous career-highs in each category. Claire Keswick hit two threes, and Righeimer played relatively well in her 22 minutes off the bench, shooting 2-of-3 from the field along with two blocks and two steals of her own.
Still, it was a struggle overall for Northwestern, a team that has gotten so used to feeding Sullivan early and often. Missing two starters and a key bench player clearly took its toll on the ‘Cats, and McKeown experimented with lineups as a result, even giving junior forward Crystal Wang her first career start.
“She’s evolving into that role,” McKeown said. “I thought she came out ready to play.”
With three points in 15 minutes, Wang wasn’t a huge factor in the scoring department, but she did avoid mistakes for the most part. Still, without Sullivan and Harter, it’s clear that this Wildcat squad has limitations that it must overcome on the offensive side of the ball.
Things weren’t helped by the fact that Xamiya Walton surprisingly went 0-of-4 from the field in her 22 minutes of action, finishing a game scoreless for the first time this season. Three of Walton’s four shots were blocked, and she was largely stifled by GW throughout the game on Sunday. If the ‘Cats hope to have success this year, finding ways to give Walton three-point looks must be a priority, as she can be a major threat when she has space from beyond the arc.
Even in an emotional and exciting return for McKeown, an injury-riddled roster spoiled the day for the team’s final non-conference matchup of the year. The ‘Cats knew they would greatly miss Sullivan’s presence, and Sunday’s loss made that painfully clear. Now, with an eight-day break ahead, the team must find ways to recuperate and resume Big Ten play strong.
