Sophomore point guard Caroline Lau is in position for a breakout season.
As a freshman, the Westport, Connecticut, native saw action in all 30 of Northwestern’s games, including three starts. Lau averaged 5.7 points per game, and holds a career-high of 20 from a January matchup against Chicago State. She also finished the season second on the team in 3-pointers, shooting 31.3% from beyond the arc.
In the Wildcats’ Thursday exhibition against Lewis, Lau tallied nine points, seven boards and six assists during 30 minutes of play while embracing a new leadership role: one of NU’s three captains this season.
The Daily spoke with Lau about her first year as a ’Cat, her captaincy and her goals for the 2023-24 season.
This interview has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
The Daily: What did you take away from your freshman season?
Lau: The biggest thing was adjusting to playing in the Big Ten and playing with a completely new team. And obviously, we didn’t finish how we wanted, so I feel like it’s kind of motivation for us to be better this year, so we’re fueled by the results of last year.
The Daily: What did you work on this offseason to prepare for the season?
Lau: Honestly, everything. Working on becoming more consistent. Finishing at the rim. Shooting more consistently and then having better chemistry with my teammates offensively.
The Daily: Let’s talk about your new leadership role. What does earning captaincy as a sophomore mean to you?
Lau: Honestly, it means everything. I’m really honored to be a captain this year. I really feel like I would do whatever for my teammates, and I hope that they would do the same for me. So that’s kind of how I see it. I’m really willing to do whatever I can to help the team win.
The Daily: What did you take away from last season’s captains’ leadership styles?
Lau: Knowing everyone really well, and wanting to build relationships with everyone on the team and treating everyone everyone as I want to be treated. And then also being positive, encouraging everybody every day and bringing energy every day.
The Daily: Was being captain a goal for you?
Lau: Honestly, no. Kind of just ended up this way. … I feel like my goal in the offseason was more just to work hard, show up every day, show up for my teammates and compete every day. So it kind of just ended up this way.
The Daily: How do you plan to lead the team in this role?
Lau: Just bringing energy every day, bringing the same consistent energy, doing whatever I can for my teammates and, obviously, playing hard, working hard and just trying to create a standard of winning here in our culture.
The Daily: What do you think the importance is of creating that standard of winning and a competitive atmosphere in the gym at Northwestern?
Lau: We’ve talked all offseason about what our standards are and that there are certain non-negotiables in terms of bringing energy every day and being consistent, being committed to your role on the team. Everyone has to do it and I feel like we’ve really built that up over the offseason.
The Daily: Any big goals for yourself and the team this year?
Lau: Just win games. That’s really the goal.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @pleonegetten
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