The team huddles at midcourt before a game against Indiana. While this season may have been less than ideal, the team is poised to turn things around next year. Photo by AJ Anderson / North by Northwestern

With the 2023-24 women’s basketball season all wrapped up, NBN Sports decided to take a look back and reflect on what was another rough season, discussing how the ’Cats can turn it around next year.

Responses have been edited for clarity.

How do you think Coach McKeown performed this year?

AJ Anderson

I think he had another rough go. It’s now been two seasons since Veronica Burton went on to the WNBA, and ever since her departure, McKeown’s team hasn’t been the same. He’s shown he’s been good in the past; a Big Ten regular season title in 2020 will tell you that, but lately, nothing has been clicking. I hate to say it, but if things don’t even slightly turn around next season, his job could be in jeopardy.

Maggie Rose Baron

He's had great seasons in the past, and I think he needs to figure out how to work with this team without a dominant star player. Overall, I wasn't impressed with his coaching this year.

Thoughts on Caroline Lau's performance?

Anderson

She’s shown the potential to be great. I really want to see her make strides next year with even more consistency and be a leader on the court. This team needs a leader, and as the point guard and rising upperclassman, it falls on her to be one of the ones to step up.

Baron

She does a great job running the court, acting as a facilitator. I'm excited to see how she plays in future seasons, getting more confident and hopefully adding some much-needed points for the team.

Mariana Bermudez

I loved seeing her career-high 24 points against Wisconsin on Feb. 4. My favorite part? Her going four-for-four on three-pointers! Each one got better than the previous one. As a rising third-year guard, she will definitely be fundamental next season.

What do you make of Caileigh Walsh?

Anderson

I felt like we didn’t see her reach her full potential this season. She had some good games, but she also left something to be desired, especially down in the post with her being 6 foot 3 [inches]. She should have been dominant game in and game out, and she just wasn’t.

Baron

She stepped up somewhat from last season and was hugely important for the team on offense and on defense. But it did seem like she had her fair share of off-games, and I think having more consistency with her scoring would go a long way.

Bermudez

Her presence on the court never went unnoticed. She scored in the double digits for more than half of the season games and had three double-doubles, making her a key player.

Who was your favorite player not named Lau or Walsh?

Anderson

Everyone else will say Melannie Daley, as they should, so I’ll go with Hailey Weaver. I love her game and attitude, and she’s really fun to watch when she has the ball.

Baron

Melannie Daley had a great season coming off of last year's injury. I love her style of play and her quickness, and I'm excited to see how she keeps getting stronger next year.

Bermudez

Melannie Daley. Layups to go all around.

Maiya Wahl

A sincere embodiment of Northwestern’s grit, third-year guard Melannie Daley posed a relentless threat to her opponents on both fronts. Daley notched a total of 398 points and 45 steals, the most on the team, making her hunger for the ball quite apparent. Still, numbers fail to do Daley justice. Her sheer tenacity and vigor is a spectacle best witnessed live.

What are your thoughts on student support?

Anderson

Even in the past when the team was good, people didn’t show up to games, so while I’m disappointed with the lack of support, I’m not surprised. I think some student support would have helped this team win another game or two just by having someone believe in them when it seemed like they didn’t believe in themselves. Players feed off of the crowd’s energy.

Baron

The student section was very disappointing this year. It seemed like there were about 15 people in the stands for every game except the one against Iowa. I'm hopeful that with more hype for women's basketball in general, we can start directing some of that energy towards our own players.

Bermudez

More, more and more! Women's basketball needs the same support seen against Iowa for every single game.

Wahl

A fever for women's college basketball swept across the nation this 2023-24 season, though its sweet taste only teased the Northwestern women's basketball team. At Welsh-Ryan Arena, the historic, sold-out game versus the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes was an exception for the otherwise dreary student section. Attendance at the women's games, sitting at 34,223 people, paled in comparison to the estimated 96,964 spectators at the men's games.

A noteworthy shift, the women's team did witness a greater increase in student support than the previous year, attracting 11,791 more spectators – a testament to the national trend in sports as women continue to seek parity with their male counterparts, including at Northwestern.

What about next year's expectations? How can the team improve?

Anderson

The team has a lot of individually talented players. They just need to play well together. Something with this team just isn’t clicking, but if they can figure out what that is and fix it before next season, then we can expect an uptick in wins from a team that currently plays below its talent level.

Baron

I was hopeful coming into the season that the team would shake off the rough 2022-23 season and get back into their groove, but it's definitely going to take a bit of time. The defense was really lacking this year, and I think that's where the team has to start. I don't have very high expectations for next season, but I'm hopeful that having two tough years in a row will shake some urgency and energy into the team.

Bermudez

Continuing to see the consistency we saw in some of their best games and maintaining a strong defensive line can help them go a long way. With the departure of Paige Mott, things will definitely change, but I hope to see players like Caileigh Walsh and Caroline Lau step up for the team. I’m hoping to see more conference wins!

Thoughts on the team and this past season as a whole?

Anderson

This season was disappointing. The team failed to get back to its defensive roots that had carried them far until 2022. I wanted to see more from these players; I know they have it in them. They just have to play together. I think that’s what is holding them back – togetherness.

Baron

Obviously not ideal. We've got good players, it just seems like the team aspect is where it kind of falls apart, and I don't see a ton of chemistry on the court. I hope that the past two seasons are the exception and don't become the rule, because I would love to see this team winning again.