No. 3 ‘Cats Clean Up in All-Big Ten Honors

No. 3 ‘Cats Clean Up in All-Big Ten Honors

4/22/2025 1:00:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

ROSEMONT, Ill. – A league-high eight members of No. 3 Northwestern lacrosse earned all-conference recognition as the Big Ten released its all-conference teams on Tuesday afternoon.

Earning unanimous votes for the All-Big Ten first team are junior attacker Madison Taylor and senior defender Sammy White. Senior midfielder Sam Smith and sixth-year defender Jane Hansen joined Taylor and White on the first team. Senior midfielder Emerson Bohlig, graduate defender Grace Fujinaga, graduate attacker Niki Miles and graduate goalkeeper Delaney Sweitzer earned second team All-Big Ten honors.

Additionally, first-year defender Mary Carroll landed on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team while senior midfielder Serafina DeMunno represents the 'Cats as a Sportsmanship Team Honoree.

Taylor leads the nation with 83 goals and 117 points, having posted hat tricks in 15 of 16 games. She has also scored six or more goals eight times, including each of her last three outings as NU won its third-straight Big Ten title. In conference play, Taylor recorded 41 goals and 63 points in eight contests.

White helped anchor a Wildcat defense that yielded just 7.88 goals per game. White caused 31 turnovers (second on the team) while scooping up a team-best 39 ground balls and snagging 45 draw controls. She also chipped in six points on four goals and two assists offensively.

Hansen was another stalwart on the 'Cats defense, forcing a team-best 35 turnovers and picking up 29 ground balls. Her efforts have helped NU hold its opponents to fewer than 10 goals in 11 of 16 games.

Smith finished one off the Big Ten lead with 133 draw controls. She did even better work in conference play, picking up 83 draw controls while Northwestern opponents only corralled 82 in eight games. In addition to consistently establishing possession for the Wildcats' prolific attack, she posted 17 points on 16 goals and an assist offensively.

Bohlig chipped in for all categories for the Wildcats, recording 28 points on 23 goals and five assists. She also scooped up 14 ground balls and 13 draw controls on the year. The senior notched three hat tricks this season, including a four-goal outing against North Carolina on March 27.

Fujinaga was another defensive anchor for the Wildcats, picking up 16 ground balls and causing 10 turnovers. Her steady play helped NU hold opponents to single-digit goals in six of the team's eight Big Ten games, including six goals or fewer four times.

In her first year in Evanston, Miles helped balance out the 'Cat offense with 30 goals and 53 points. She was even more dynamic against Big Ten foes, posting 31 points on 20 goals and 11 assists in eight league games.

Another impact graduate transfer, Sweitzer went 12-2 in net for the Wildcats and notched an 8.28 goals against average along with a .500 save percentage. She was even more stifling in Big Ten play, posting a 7.21 goals against average and .551 save percentage.

Carroll acquitted herself well as a first-year starter on NU's stellar defense. The Kennett Square, Pa., native snared 19 ground balls and forced 17 turnovers as the Wildcats allowed 7.25 goals per game in Big Ten play.

The Wildcats have a bye to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, where they will face either Penn State or Johns Hopkins on Friday at 4 p.m. CT. The game will air on BTN.