Patricia Babcock McGraw

Staff Writer
  • Phone(847) 427-4454
  • Emailpbabcock@dailyherald.com

Patricia Babcock McGraw grew up playing sports and wanted to stay connected to that world once her playing days were over. While playing basketball at Northwestern in the early 1990s, she majored in journalism at the Medill School of Journalism with the hope of one day writing about sports.

In 1997, she was hired as a sports writer and columnist by the Daily Herald.

Babcock McGraw covers high school sports as well as women's sports for the Daily Herald. Her weekly Women's Watch column, which focuses on college and professional women's sports, is unparalleled in the United States.

In 2002, Babcock McGraw won a Peter Lisagor Award for a series on the 30th anniversary of Title IX. For years, she has been a voter for The Associated Press women's college basketball Top 25 weekly poll, the John Wooden Award for the best player in women's college basketball and the Nancy Lieberman Award for the best point guard in women's college basketball.

Since 2007, she has extended her reach to television as a color analyst for women's college basketball games on the Big Ten Network and for Chicago Sky (WNBA) games on Comcast.

Prior to joining the Daily Herald, Babcock McGraw worked as a sports writer at Pioneer Press in the suburbs and at the Shreveport Times in Louisiana.

A native of Indiana, Babcock McGraw was named Indiana's Miss Basketball as a senior in high school at Culver Academy before earning all-Big Ten academic and athletic accolades at Northwestern.

Babcock McGraw lives in the north suburbs with her husband Mike, who covers the Chicago Bulls for the Daily Herald, and their two children.

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items 1-10 out of 855


Clark, Lakes size up Grant

Feb 09 2013 | 11:51 pm - With a full week off between games, the Lakes boys basketball team tried a few new things at practice. One of them worked quite nicely Saturday night against visiting Grant. Direll Clark, a 5-foot-11 guard who is usually seen hitting 3-pointers and...

Dunning's FT help Grant past Vernon Hills

Feb 08 2013 | 11:51 pm - Three-pointers were here, there and everywhere at Grant on Friday night. The host Bulldogs hit a total of six 3-pointers while visiting Vernon Hills hit five of its own. At one point in the second quarter, the teams combined to hit four straight...

Sky's Young steps up on Girls in Sports Day

Feb 08 2013 | 5:45 pm - It's all about the shoes! Women's Watch checks in on a neat Sky charitable event on National Women and Girls in Sports Day.

Junior Knights getting their day in the sun

Feb 07 2013 | 8:47 pm - Earlier this week, the Jr. Knights were born, giving aspiring youth football players in the Grayslake North district, another alternative, one they will be able to more closely identify with in the future.

North Chicago, Stevenson net top seeds

Feb 07 2013 | 8:38 pm - North Chicago has earned the top seed in the Class 3A Antioch sectional, while Stevenson is the top seed in the Class 4A Waukegan sectional.

Williams, Lopez doing more than serving a purpose

Feb 07 2013 | 9:04 pm - Every team needs role players, but they become even more important as the regular season morphs into the postseason. They can provide that extra lift that can make or break a playoff run. Two juniors who are already playing big roles for their teams...

For Michigan's Zurales, hard work the right prescription

Feb 01 2013 | 6:26 pm - Wheaton Warrenville South graduate Katie Zurales is a three-time all-American gymnast at No. 3 Michigan who also keeps busy outside the gym. She is preparing for medical school and volunteering at a local hospital as she prepares for a career after...

Kohler's OT block saves Lakes win

Feb 02 2013 | 12:26 am - Some rejections end in tears. Jake Kohler's certainly did on Friday night. The Lakes senior guard came up with the biggest rejection of his career when he blocked a driving layup attempt by North Chicago in the final seconds of an overtime battle...

Stevenson eager to harvest top seed

Jan 31 2013 | 9:06 pm - As far as planting a seed goes, the Stevenson boys basketball team has done just that ahead of next week's IHSA seeding process. The 16-4 Patriots, who have won six straight games and nine of their last 11, have proven that they deserve heavy...

After standing still 6 months, time starts to move for Mundelein's Knar

Jan 31 2013 | 9:41 pm - Four seconds. That was Robert Knar's latest victory. His life, for the last six months, has been measured in similarly small increments. "It's the small victories that keep you going," Knar said. "Those are what I've been living for lately." Weeks...

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