Northwestern women's basketball team's 'Potter Puppet Pals' TikTok garners almost 1M views, illustrates players' chemistry

EVANSTON, Ill. (WLS) -- The Northwestern women's basketball team was bored on a road trip, so they decided to make a TikTok.

"We ... didn't have any more homework, so (we thought we) might as well make a TikTok," NU senior Byrdy Galernik said. "Three or four days went by and no following, and randomly I got a text, 'dude, your TikTok's blowing up.'"

Junior Brooke Pikiell said she had been joking about going viral but didn't think it would actually happen.

The video, posted on the social network created for short-form video sharing, had more than 950,000 views as of Thursday. It mimics a popular YouTube video featuring the "Potter Puppet Pals," which parodies J.K. Rowling's wizard series.

The video even caught "Time" magazine's attention, and the players say it illustrates their chemistry both on and off the court.

"I definitely think you can see how much we care about each other and how much fun we have," Pikiell said. "I think it just really helps to understand each other on the court."

And the women's Wildcats team is off to its best start in 30 years.

"After the WNIT (Women's National Invitation Tournament) run we really knew what we had in us, and we've just been playing together so well," Veronica Burton said. "I think the chemistry's really strong, and it just shows on the court."