Predicting women’s basketball’s floor and ceiling

Northwestern is turning the page to a new chapter with first-year head coach Carla Berube as the protagonist. Berube spent her last seven seasons as the head Tiger at Princeton, where she had immense success with an .835 winning percentage and five Ivy League titles, making the NCAA Tournament in each of those seasons.

She takes over a Northwestern program that has been a bit disappointing in recent years. Last year, the ‘Cats finished with an 8-21 record, finishing 2-16 in the Big Ten, landing them 17th in the conference.

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With returning talent and newcomers through the portal and as recruits, will winning and success continue to follow Berube into Evanston?

This is what the floor and ceiling for the Wildcats could look like:

Ceiling: Drastic improvement, on the NCAA Tournament bubble

It is not a secret that Northwestern was not a very strong team last year, losing 21 of its final 23 games. But it is also no secret that Berube wins. Google her. In a dream scenario, every single ounce of talent on this Northwestern team is mustered and utilized to its fullest potential.

The team will live and die by senior guard Casey Harter. She leveled up her game last year, averaging 10 points per game while holding her own defensively. If she can be a true two-way talent, the ‘Cats will have a star that can carry them night-to-night.

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Hopefully she will not be alone in that effort, as players like junior guard Xamiya Walton and transfers Lily Carmody (Boston College) and Lexi Blue (Kentucky) will prove to be vital pieces for the team. Walton will be expected to expand her game as a point guard this season — something that is new to her. She only averaged 1.8 assists per game on the wing last season, but she is more than capable of taking a leap as a playmaker.

Carmody was an incredibly talented scorer in the ACC last season, averaging 12.8 points per game for the Eagles last season. Replicating that level of production in the Big Ten means Northwestern gets a…

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Publish date : 2026-10-30 18:41:00

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