Northwestern women's basketball has compiled a 35-81 record since 2022, including a Big Ten-worst 10-60 record in conference play. The once-prestigious Wildcats have fallen from prominence in recent years, but new head coach Carla Berube plans to waste no time in getting NU back on track.

Berube was officially introduced as the next coach of the 'Cats on Tuesday morning and immediately made it clear that she is out to bring a Big Ten Championship back to Evanston. The former Princeton coach's eyes lit up when asked about the potential to return Northwestern to the postseason, saying that playing into mid-March was an attainable goal in year one.

Northwestern has reached the NCAA Tournament twice since the turn of the century. Berube has led the Tigers there in five consecutive seasons, and she's looking to bring that standard to her new home quickly.

"Talking about the culture we want to build, it's about taking steps forward every single day," Berube said. "I know it can't be overnight success, winning a Big Ten Championship. That's going to take some time and some growth, but I'm looking forward to the challenge. I'm looking forward to helping these young women get better every single day, collectively and individually, and put [forth] a brand of basketball that the fans of Welsh-Ryan will be excited to cheer for."

Overnight success is not new to Berube, though. As a 27-year-old in her first career head coaching job, she turned Division III Tufts from a sub-.500 team to 17-7 in her debut season. Berube had her team in the Elite 8 by year six, won a conference title by year 11 and reached the NCAA Tournament in 11 of her final 12 seasons.

Her success instantly translated to the Division I level. Despite telling reporters that it took her "three or four years to even understand Princeton," Berube's Tigers went 26-1 in her first year and either won the Ivy League or played in March Madness in each of her six seasons at the helm.

The Big Ten is undoubtedly a different beast than the NESCAC and the Ivy League, but Berube is not shying away from the challenge of restoring the Wildcats to perennial conference title contention.

Due to the Ivy League's strict transfer rules, Berube did not add any transfers during her time at Princeton. To compete in the Big Ten, though, utilizing the portal is a non-negotiable. She understands that and expects it to be a significant part of the job, despite not having past experience in that department.

Under athletic director Mark Jackson, the Wildcats' football and men's basketball programs have undergone significant revamping and investment in order to keep up with the changing NIL landscape. Based on Berube's comments, it appears Northwestern women's basketball is next.

"The commitment is there," Berube said. "I don't think I would've come to Northwestern and move my family across the country if I didn't feel like we had the resources and the commitment to win here. I'm fully confident that we can do that and bring in really talented student-athletes."

Berube frequently spoke about the need to bring in the right athletes, specifically referencing the transfer portal, which officially opens on Apr. 6. Northwestern currently projects to have nine returning players and two incoming freshmen, and Berube said she will look to supplement the Wildcats' existing talent with transfers who want the challenge of balancing academic prestige with athletic excellence.

The former Princeton coach may already have a few of those players in mind.

"It's about now finding more great student-athletes to come to Northwestern and want to win championships, to want to work really hard alongside your teammates and doing something greater than just yourself," Berube said. "I think we can do that. I'm really looking forward to finding those players. I know they're out there. I've recruited some of them along the way at Princeton."

Berube's leading scorer from this past season, guard Madison St. Rose, is already in the portal as a graduate transfer. Top-100 high school recruit Ava Yoon has not yet enrolled at Princeton and could be a candidate to flip to NU. Princeton's four other All-Ivy League honorees are juniors and could face academic hurdles if they tried to transfer to Northwestern with only one year remaining in their bachelor's degrees, but anything is possible.

Although Berube chose her words very carefully at her introductory press conference, there's no doubt that Northwestern's roster will receive a makeover this offseason.

Carla Berube wins. She won as a player, she won at the Division III level and she won in the Ivy League. And as much as Joe McKeown won at Northwestern — more victories than any NU men's or women's basketball coach ever — Berube isn't trying to be the next Joe McKeown.

She is intent on bringing her brand of basketball to Evanston. Associate head coach Lauren Dillon and director of basketball operations Lilly Paro are following Berube from Princeton to serve in the same roles at Northwestern, and it shouldn't be surprising if Berube recruits multiple former Tigers players to help establish her culture in Evanston.

"Wildcat basketball will be the team that values every possession, that forces you to guard for a full shot clock, and then comes down and makes it just as hard for you on the other end," Berube said. "We're going to think the game, but we're also going to compete. We're going to be physical and we're going to be relentless, but at the core, it's about being connected, being disciplined and playing for each other. That's our foundation."

McKeown's 'Cats were known for their suffocating blizzard defense for much of his time as the head coach. Berube's Tigers this year, similarly, were a defensive-minded team that relied on low-possession games.

Princeton ranked 190th in the nation in shot attempts per game, but was efficient with the shots it did take (29th in FG%). On three-pointers, the Tigers were 212th nationally in attempts and 44th in accuracy. Opponents got up the 59th-fewest attempts in Division I and were on the wrong end of college basketball's No. 37-ranked turnover margin.

"You will see that we will compete for every single second on this court," Berube said. "It's going to be hard-nosed, toughness, grittiness, just competing every single possession to win that possession on both ends of the floor. You've got to bring that every day in practice; it doesn't just show up on gamedays. We're going to have that championship-winning standard every day. We'll compete, and I think we can win a lot of games that way."