Northwestern Schedules Thanksgiving Weekend Basketball Tournament

The Wildcats are headed to the Sunshine State.

Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball players huddle during a game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on March 2, 2025. | Photo: Northwestern Athletics

Days after finalizing their 15-player roster ahead of the 2025-26 season, Northwestern has added a midseason tournament to its schedule.

The Wildcats announced on Wednesday morning that they had accepted an invitation to the Fort Myers Tip-Off, held the weekend after Thanksgiving in Fort Myers, Florida. The eight-team women's field is split into two divisions, meaning NU will play two opponents in a four-team tournament bracket.

Competing in the "Shell Division," Northwestern's pool features Missouri, Bradley and Abilene Christian. Games are set to be held on November 28 and 29 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena, the home of Florida SouthWestern State College.

Beach Ball 🌴

Northwestern will feature as part of the 2025 Elevance Health Women's @FTMyersTipOff, November 28-29. pic.twitter.com/5IPWrO2wXv

— Northwestern Women’s Basketball (@nuwbball) July 9, 2025

The "Island Division" contains Kansas, Georgia, Butler and Dayton. Despite playing in the same building at the same time, Northwestern will not compete against any of the four teams on the opposing side of the tournament, regardless of results.

Of the four teams in Northwestern's division, Abilene Christian finished last year with the most wins. The ACU Wildcats went 22-13 (9-7 WAC) in the 2024-25 season, placing fourth in the WAC and advancing to the Super 16 round of the WNIT.

Northwestern is familiar with Bradley, having played the cross-state opponents in each of the last two seasons. Kate Popovec-Goss, the Braves' fourth-year head coach, played for the Wildcats from 2011 to 2013 and spent five seasons on the coaching staff under Joe McKeown. NU is 2-0 against Bradley and defeated the Braves, 67-57, in December.

Missouri enters the season with a new head coach for the first time since 2010 after hiring former Tennessee coach Kellie Harper this March. The Tigers were 14-18 last year, but just 3-13 in the SEC and missed the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive season.

Northwestern now knows its conference opponents and midseason tournament for the upcoming campaign, and the Wildcats' complete schedule will likely be released soon as the fall tip-off nears.