‘Cats Battle, Fall To Xavier, 91-78

EVANSTON, Ill. (November 5, 2026) – Lily Carmody paced a quartet of Wildcats in double figures as Northwestern (1-1) dropped a 91-78 decision to visiting Xavier (2-0) this evening inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.

How It Happened
Northwestern came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, shooting a blistering 61 percent across the opening 10 minutes. After Xavier scored first, a corner three from Camdyn Nelson sparked an early 7-0 Wildcat run that also featured buckets from Carmody and Lexi Blue, with the latter’s score giving the ‘Cats a 7-2 edge. Kat Righeimer provided an early spark off the bench, knocking down a pair of treys as part of a quarter-ending 12-1 tear that saw Northwestern establish a 23-15 lead.

Carmody displayed some fancy footwork two minutes into the second quarter, as she spun through the lane and converted to match the Wildcats’ largest lead of the night, 27-18. After seeing Xavier trim the gap to 29-28, Righeimer looked to stem the tide, knocking down her third trey of the half to reestablish a four-point advantage, 32-28. Northwestern would push the lead back to six on a pair of occasions in the half’s closing stages, but Xavier refused to wilt, closing back within two, 41-39, at halftime.

Xavier stepped on the accelerator coming out of the intermission, opening the third quarter with a 10-3 charge to go in front, 49-44, at the 6:51 mark. Jasmyn Cooper-Derba brought the ‘Cats back within one, 52-51, with a second-chance bucket, before Xavier responded with six unanswered points to stretch the margin to 58-51. Northwestern continued to hang tough, with a Brooke Golden post score trimming the visitors’ lead to 65-60 heading to the fourth quarter.

Blue hit on a corner three of her own 90 seconds into the final frame to again make it a five-point game, 68-63. That would prove to be as close as Northwestern would get for the remainder of the evening, as Xavier pushed its lead into double digits en route to recording its second straight road win to begin the 2026-27 season.

Inside The Box Score
- Carmody closed her night with a team-high 20 points (6-12 FGs, 1-1 3FGs, 7-9 FTs), her second consecutive game of 20-plus points to begin her Northwestern career. The Melbourne, Australia native now has seven career games of 20 points or more.
- Blue added 13 points on an efficient 5-of-9 clip from the field, also knocking down both of her attempts at the free throw line.
- Nelson put up a career-best 12 points (3-4 FGs, 2-3 3FGs, 4-7 FTs), in addition to a team-best six rebounds and four assists.
- Casey Harter rounded out a group of four ‘Cats in double figures with 10 points (3-10 FGs, 4-5 FTs), while also dishing out a team-high six assists.
- Carmody, Blue, and Cooper-Derba each came away with a pair of steals.
- Righeimer tied a career high with a trio of made three-point field goals as part of a nine-point effort (3-7 FGs, 3-7 3FGs).
- Xavier, which shot 62 percent (31-for-50) from the field, was led by 22-point outings from Lucile Jerome (7-12 FGs, 3-6 3FGs, 5-6 FTs) and Meri Kanerva (5-5 FGs, 2-2 3FGs, 10-13 FTs).

Up Next
Northwestern makes the short trek to Chicago’s West Side for a 1 p.m. CT clash with local foe UIC on Sunday, November 8.