Results
| WNCAAB | 03/06 23:30 | 122 | [291] Northwestern damer v Purdue damer [242] | L | 72-78 | |
| WNCAAB | 03/03 19:00 | - | Rutgers damer v Northwestern damer | W | 61-72 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/28 00:00 | - | [28] Indiana damer v Northwestern damer [298] | L | 84-64 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/24 20:00 | - | Northwestern damer v Michigan damer | L | 60-74 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/21 02:00 | - | [284] Northwestern damer v Nebraska damer [83] | L | 50-75 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/17 20:00 | - | Minnesota damer v Northwestern damer | L | 88-63 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/15 01:00 | - | Northwestern damer v Purdue damer | L | 48-74 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/09 00:00 | - | Illinois damer v Northwestern damer | L | 82-71 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/04 20:00 | - | Northwestern damer v Wisconsin damer | W | 69-43 | |
| WNCAAB | 02/01 01:00 | - | [5] Iowa damer v Northwestern damer [266] | L | 110-74 | |
| WNCAAB | 01/28 19:00 | - | [253] Northwestern damer v Indiana damer [22] | L | 59-100 | |
| WNCAAB | 01/26 01:00 | - | Northwestern damer v Penn state damer | L | 65-76 |
Wikipedia - Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball
The Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball team is the intercollegiate women's basketball program representing Northwestern University. The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Wildcats play home basketball games at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the university campus in Evanston, Illinois, but played the 2017–18 season at Beardsley Gym on the nearby campus of Evanston Township High School during renovations to Welsh–Ryan Arena.
History
Early years (1975–1984)
The Wildcats began play in women's basketball in 1975, with Mary DiStanislao as the first head coach, who coached for five seasons, with the final two resulting in appearances in the AIAW Tournament. In 1980, Annette Lynch took over as head coach, leading the team to postseason appearances (AIAW and NCAA) in her first two seasons, with the latter (1981) being the first season in the Big Ten Conference.
Don Perrelli era (1985–1999)
In 1984, Don Perrelli became head coach of the Wildcats. In his 15-year tenure, he led the team to 5 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, a Big Ten title in 1990 (with a 24–5 record, 15–3 conference record), and a NWIT appearance. Perrelli retired after the 1998–99 season.
Decline (1999–2008)
June Olkowski took over, coaching Northwestern for five seasons, but she was fired after finishing 10th or worse each time, never winning more than three conference games. Beth Combs was hired to coach the Wildcats in 2004, but she was fired after four seasons, highlighted with winning only 7 conference games in 4 years and never finishing higher than 10th place.
Joe McKeown era (2008–present)
Joe McKeown was hired for the 2008 season. After a 10th-place finish in his first season, they finished tied for 8th in the conference (good enough to qualify for the WNIT) the following season, their highest finish since the 1998 season. After appearing in the WNIT twice in the following four seasons, the Wildcats returned to the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Tournament in 2015, their first appearance since 1997, in a season where they had their highest finish in the conference (1994) since 1996.
Wildcats leds av head coach Joe McKeown, som har varit med i programmet sedan 1982. McKeown har lett Wildcats till 11 NCAA-turneringar, inklusive tre Sweet Sixteen och en Elite Eight. Han har också fått Big Ten Coach of the Year fem gånger.
Det nuvarande Wildcats-laget leds av seniorforward Lindsey Pulliam, som var en All-American och Big Ten Player of the Year 2021. Pulliam är en av fyra Wildcats som har utsetts till All-Americans, tillsammans med Maya Moore, Nia Coffey och Carrie Moore. Wildcats har också haft åtta spelare som valts ut i WNBA-draften, inklusive Moore, Coffey och Pulliam.
Wildcats spelar sina hemmamatcher på Welsh-Ryan Arena i Evanston, Illinois. Welsh-Ryan Arena har en kapacitet på 8 117 och är en av de största och mest bullriga arenorna i Big Ten. Wildcats har en stark hemadragning och har vunnit över 80 % av sina hemmamatcher under de senaste fem åren.
Wildcats är ett av de mest framgångsrika basketprogrammen för kvinnor i landet och de är alltid en utmanare till det nationella mästerskapet. Med en begåvad lista över spelare och en erfaren tränare kan Wildcats förvänta sig att göra ännu ett djupt NCAA-turneringslopp säsongen 2022-23.