EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern women's basketball concluded their 2022-23 season at the Big Ten Tournament in March, closing the book on some impressive individual performances.
Headlining the action at the tournament was Caileigh Walsh, who hit a career-high six threes en route to a 24-point performance against Rutgers. The sophomore is the first Wildcat woman to hit six or more treys in a game since Abi Scheid sank six on January 19, 2020. Twenty-four points tied Walsh's career high for points in a game and made her one of four players to score 20 or more points in a Big Ten Tournament game in the last ten seasons. She joins Veronica Burton, Lindsey Pulliam and Nia Coffey in that club.
For Walsh, the tournament was the capstone on a breakout season. She led Wildcat scorers nearly all year, finishing with 362 points - a 74 percent increase over the 208 points she scored in her first season in Evanston. She helped herself to that total with four 20-point games, joining Burton and Pulliam as one of three Wildcats to log four or more in a season over the last four seasons. In addition to her contributions on offense, Walsh finished with 35 blocks, which was second on the team. After logging 40 blocks as a first year, Walsh is one of just two Big Ten Players to block 35 or more shots in both of the last two seasons (Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana).
The only player to best Walsh in blocks this season, grad student Sydney Wood, finished her final season with 38. She hit that figure after tallying a career-high six blocks in the Big Ten Tournament matchup with Rutgers. Wood is one of four Wildcats in the past decade to block at least six shots in a game, one of two to do so against a Big Ten opponent, and the only one to achieve the feat in a tournament game.
The blocks were part of an all-conference defensive season for Wood, who also finished with a career-high 75 steals. That ranked second in the Big Ten, 36th in the NCAA and tenth all-time in program history for single-season steals. Her fifth-year effort brought Wood to 240 steals in her Northwestern career, good for third in program history.
Also putting in work on defense was sophomore Hailey Weaver, who saw an increase in minutes during her second year as a Wildcat. She made those minutes count, racking up 33 steals to rank third on the roster. Weaver nabbed steals at a rate of 4.5 per 40 minutes on the floor, which led all 'Cats by a wide margin. The guard beat out second-place Sydney Wood, who finished with 3.0 steals-per-40. Weaver's rate was also near the top of the conference, ranking fourth among Big Ten players with at least two games played and second among Big Ten players with at least 40 minutes on the season.
On the other end of the court, Northwestern was helped by veterans and newcomers. Junior and team captain Paige Mott made a major impact as she appeared in all 30 games, including 25 starts. After playing exclusively off the bench in her sophomore season, Mott took to her new role immediately. She more than doubled her season point total and almost doubled her rebounds, finishing with 267 and 132 respectively. The forward reached that figure by shooting a team-best 52.7 percent from the floor. Along with Courtney Shaw and Abbie Wolf, Mott is one of three Wildcats in the past five seasons to finish with a shooting percentage of at least 52 percent.
Along with the improvements from returners, the 'Cats got a boost from newcomer Caroline Lau in her first season in purple. After seeing limited action in the first few months, the first year turned it on during conference play. Lau finished fifth on the team in total points (171) and second in made three-point shots (25). When she wasn't scoring, Lau dealt out 78 assists, good for third on the team. Both her three-point percentage (31.3) and total assists were the best by a Wildcat first year since Veronica Burton during the 2018-19 season.
The Wildcats will return to the court in fall of 2023, with at least 11 of this year's 15 players poised to return. They'll also add at least two newcomers in commits Casey Harter, a guard, and Crystal Wang, a forward.
Headlining the action at the tournament was Caileigh Walsh, who hit a career-high six threes en route to a 24-point performance against Rutgers. The sophomore is the first Wildcat woman to hit six or more treys in a game since Abi Scheid sank six on January 19, 2020. Twenty-four points tied Walsh's career high for points in a game and made her one of four players to score 20 or more points in a Big Ten Tournament game in the last ten seasons. She joins Veronica Burton, Lindsey Pulliam and Nia Coffey in that club.
For Walsh, the tournament was the capstone on a breakout season. She led Wildcat scorers nearly all year, finishing with 362 points - a 74 percent increase over the 208 points she scored in her first season in Evanston. She helped herself to that total with four 20-point games, joining Burton and Pulliam as one of three Wildcats to log four or more in a season over the last four seasons. In addition to her contributions on offense, Walsh finished with 35 blocks, which was second on the team. After logging 40 blocks as a first year, Walsh is one of just two Big Ten Players to block 35 or more shots in both of the last two seasons (Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana).
The only player to best Walsh in blocks this season, grad student Sydney Wood, finished her final season with 38. She hit that figure after tallying a career-high six blocks in the Big Ten Tournament matchup with Rutgers. Wood is one of four Wildcats in the past decade to block at least six shots in a game, one of two to do so against a Big Ten opponent, and the only one to achieve the feat in a tournament game.
The blocks were part of an all-conference defensive season for Wood, who also finished with a career-high 75 steals. That ranked second in the Big Ten, 36th in the NCAA and tenth all-time in program history for single-season steals. Her fifth-year effort brought Wood to 240 steals in her Northwestern career, good for third in program history.
Also putting in work on defense was sophomore Hailey Weaver, who saw an increase in minutes during her second year as a Wildcat. She made those minutes count, racking up 33 steals to rank third on the roster. Weaver nabbed steals at a rate of 4.5 per 40 minutes on the floor, which led all 'Cats by a wide margin. The guard beat out second-place Sydney Wood, who finished with 3.0 steals-per-40. Weaver's rate was also near the top of the conference, ranking fourth among Big Ten players with at least two games played and second among Big Ten players with at least 40 minutes on the season.
On the other end of the court, Northwestern was helped by veterans and newcomers. Junior and team captain Paige Mott made a major impact as she appeared in all 30 games, including 25 starts. After playing exclusively off the bench in her sophomore season, Mott took to her new role immediately. She more than doubled her season point total and almost doubled her rebounds, finishing with 267 and 132 respectively. The forward reached that figure by shooting a team-best 52.7 percent from the floor. Along with Courtney Shaw and Abbie Wolf, Mott is one of three Wildcats in the past five seasons to finish with a shooting percentage of at least 52 percent.
Along with the improvements from returners, the 'Cats got a boost from newcomer Caroline Lau in her first season in purple. After seeing limited action in the first few months, the first year turned it on during conference play. Lau finished fifth on the team in total points (171) and second in made three-point shots (25). When she wasn't scoring, Lau dealt out 78 assists, good for third on the team. Both her three-point percentage (31.3) and total assists were the best by a Wildcat first year since Veronica Burton during the 2018-19 season.
The Wildcats will return to the court in fall of 2023, with at least 11 of this year's 15 players poised to return. They'll also add at least two newcomers in commits Casey Harter, a guard, and Crystal Wang, a forward.