'Cats Battle Past Milwaukee In 2026-27 Opener, 64-60

EVANSTON, Ill. (November 3, 2026) - Northwestern opened the Carla Berube era with a 64-60 season-opening win over Milwaukee on Tuesday evening inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.

In a back-and-forth contest, the Wildcats (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) outscored the Panthers (0-1, 0-0 Horizon League) 21-14 in the fourth quarter to capture a victory down the stretch.

Making her first appearance as a Wildcat, Lily Carmody paced Northwestern with a game-high 21 points, in addition to five rebounds and six assists. Casey Harter added 16 points and dished out four assists, while Jasmyn Cooper-Derba recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds in her Northwestern debut.

Northwestern shot just shy of 47 percent (22-for-47) from the field, a mark that included a 33-percent clip (6-for-18) from beyond the three-point arc. Led by Cooper-Derba’s efforts, the ‘Cats outrebounded the Panthers by a 32-26 margin.

“We read the defense really well and finally figured out where the ball needed to be and the mismatches needed to be,” Carmody said of Northwestern’s fourth-quarter showing. “We did a really good job relying on our offense…and if doubles came, just being able to swing the ball out so everybody was a threat on the floor.”

“Coach did a very good job teaching us how to execute this win tonight, especially against those very good bigs,” Cooper-Derba said of her rebounding performance. “Just out-working, out-toughing, knowing that I’m undersized.”

Milwaukee won the opening tip and jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but a three-pointer and an old-fashioned three-point play from Cooper-Derba helped Northwestern to its first advantage of the night at 8-6. Harter’s trey and baskets from Kat Righeimer and Camdyn Nelson put Northwestern up, 15-10. Milwaukee answered, using an 8-0 run to take an 18-15 edge at the end of the first quarter.

Lexi Blue looked to provide a spark early in the second frame, rejecting Kendall Barnes’ shot before scoring a second-chance bucket on the other end of the floor to knot the game up at 21-21. With Milwaukee in front by four, 30-26, in the closing seconds of the first half, Carmody converted as time expired to get the ’Cats back within two, 30-28, heading to halftime.

Northwestern retook the lead, 31-30, on Cooper-Derba’s third three of the night just 21 seconds into the third quarter. Milwaukee refused to go away, going back in front, 34-33, on an Izzy Pugh bucket at the 5:36 mark. Two Carmody makes at the free throw line briefly brought Northwestern level at 37-37, but Rita Gomes connected from deep to stake the Panthers to a 40-37 advantage, as Milwaukee ultimately took a 46-43 edge into the final frame.

After seeing its deficit reach six on a pair of separate occasions early in the fourth quarter, Northwestern charged back in front through a 7-0 run, capped off by a Carmody jumper that made it 52-51 with 4:44 remaining in regulation. Madison Fitzgibbon briefly put the visitors back on top, 54-52, when she connected from deep, but Righeimer responded with a three of her own on Northwestern’s ensuing possession to give the ’Cats a slim 55-54 lead with 4:04 to go.

Carmody finished inside to push the margin to three, 57-54, before she connected with a cutting Harter to make it a five-point game, 59-54, with only 1:41 remaining. Harter came up big again inside the final 30 seconds, draining a pull-up jumper to make it 61-57. Northwestern went on to salt the game away at the charity stripe en route to a season-opening victory.

“I love the atmosphere. I love the environment. I love all the purple,” Berube said of her first Northwestern win. “I love just being on the sideline with this team and with my staff and wearing the ‘N’ on my shirt. Can’t wait for more, and looking forward to more games here.”

Northwestern looks to improve to 2-0 on the young season when it hosts Xavier in a 7 p.m. CT tip-off on Thursday, November 5.