Three takeaways from Northwestern women’s basketball’s Fort Myers Tip-Off

The undefeated season is no more.

After taking down Abilene Christian in a nail-biter down in Fort Myers, Fla., the Northwestern Wildcats dropped their first contest of the year, falling 85-70 to Missouri in their first power conference game of the season. Now sitting at 6-1 on the year, NU returns home to take on Kansas this Wednesday before opening up its conference slate against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday.

Before we move forward in the women’s basketball calendar, let’s take a look at some key takeaways from Thanksgiving weekend.

Grace Sullivan is one of the best forwards in the country

After the losses of Taylor Williams and Caileigh Walsh entering 2025-26, it was always clear that the ‘Cats would need Sullivan to take a jump in her senior season. Fortunately for NU, its 6-foot-4 forward has improved by leaps and bounds. Through seven games, she has played like a bona fide superstar.

Sullivan is third among all Big Ten players so far with 22.6 points per game, and in rebounds, she’s third as well with 9.7 per contest. Her stellar scoring ability has been fueled by an elite turnaround jumper, one that she has possessed since last year but has truly taken to the next level in her senior campaign. When Sullivan is on the floor, the offense runs through her, and given her 35.1 minutes per game, it’s safe to assume she will continue to play that lead role moving forward as well.

Things clearly got more difficult for Northwestern against an SEC opponent in Missouri (more on that later), but Sullivan was simply unfazed. She dropped a ridiculous 31-point, 13-rebound stat line against the Tigers, showing off her scoring versatility in the paint and establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with against any opponent.

If things keep trending this way for Sullivan, it’s not crazy to say she could be in WNBA Draft conversations by the end of this season. Regardless, it’s been a dream start for Northwestern’s top player, as she clearly provides the kind of star potential the ‘Cats sorely lacked in 2024-25.

Northwestern needs to close games better

Getting better at finishing games in the fourth quarter was a major area of focus for the ‘Cats last season. With a 2-16 Big Ten record, they were largely unsuccessful, and against Missouri on Saturday, NU once again fell apart in the final frame after trailing by just five points with five minutes to go.

Déjà vu? It sure feels like it.

Part of the struggles can be attributed to a lack of three-point shooting depth. Misses from beyond the arc by Caroline Lau and Claire Keswick didn’t help matters, and because Missouri finally slowed down Sullivan, the Wildcats simply ran out of offensive options down the stretch.

That can’t happen in Big Ten play. Sure, NU would love to rely on Sullivan every chance it gets, but she needs secondary scoring options to help the team reach its maximum potential. Excluding Sullivan, the ‘Cats shot 36% from the field against Abilene Christian and 35% against the Tigers, marks that ideally should be improved by a few percentage points on a game-by-game basis.

Both Keswick and Xamiya Walton have pure shooting strokes, but they have yet to find consistency from beyond the arc — another issue that plagued the ‘Cats collectively all of last season. To make matters worse, Lau is shooting 25% from deep after shooting 26% a season ago.

It’s a small sample size, but Lau’s average of four three-point attempts per game is worrisome given the lack of efficiency. It’ll be tough for the Wildcats to find consistently willing shooters, but doing so may be necessary to take the pressure off their senior point guard.

Lack of depth is starting to become a concern

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing that Wildcat head coach Joe McKeown has shrunk his rotation as the ‘Cats near conference play, but it is starting to look like they’ll need to find more depth, and fast.

Against Abilene Christian, NU had just six players play double-digit minutes. When squaring off with Missouri, the Wildcats ran an eight-player rotation that notably featured only three minutes from DaiJa Turner.

Based on comments from NU’s coaching staff before the season began, it seems like they intended to give Turner far more run than she has gotten so far. It’s unclear why the TCU transfer forward’s playing time has been so limited, but one reason may be that she has not yet established the same level of offensive potency that Sullivan and Tayla Thomas offer in the post. With regard to the backcourt, Walton and Keswick offer solid depth in their respective roles, but McKeown has yet to establish full trust in another guard beyond scattered minutes for first-year Angelina Hodgens.

Of course, it should be expected that the Wildcats lean on their starters, especially as Big Ten play nears. But stamina can play a major role down the stretch in games, arguably adding fuel to the fire of fourth-quarter struggles NU has dealt with for so long. The ‘Cats need one or two more dependable options off the bench, and if they can’t identify those options, there will likely be outsized pressure on the starters to consistently produce despite very high minute totals.