In the first half of Northwestern’s game versus Cleveland State, sophomore guard Claire Keswick made her first basket and 3-pointer as a Wildcat. Then, Keswick decided to hit five more from deep, finishing the game with 18 points and shooting 43% from behind the arc, helping the Wildcats (5-0, 0-0 Big Ten) hold off the Vikings (4-1, 0-0 Horizon) in a 75-68 win.
“It was definitely a combination of a lot of work that I’ve been putting in, and I think I’ve just been playing really well in practice,” Keswick said postgame. “I was really excited when I saw the game was going to be all zone, and just knowing that my teammates and coaches had trusted me to step up tonight was really exciting.”
Last season, NU shot a Big-Ten-low 28.6% on 3-pointers, leading to coach Joe McKeown calling his assistant coaches the “best 3-point shooters in the gym” after one particularly chastening defeat. Tonight, Keswick certainly proved herself worthy of taking that title from her coaching staff.
As a team, NU shot 26.7% from 3-point land, continuing its collective struggles from deep. Keswick, however, was an anomaly, hitting six of NU’s eight made 3-pointers.
“She has an incredible work ethic, great attitude and great energy, and she just lives in the gym,” McKeown said. “I’m just really proud of her. She’s streaky. When she gets hot, you’re going to see even deeper range than what you saw tonight.”
After a slow start for the ’Cats, Keswick’s fourth 3-pointer pulled them within one going into the halftime break. Letting it fly from deep isn’t something new for Keswick. As a high school junior, the 6-foot-0 guard shot 44% from behind the arc.
Last season as a freshman, Keswick only appeared in four games with a season-high of three minutes. After playing sporadically this season, the Wrentham, Massachusetts native capitalized on her career-high 25 minutes and helped NU eke out a seven-point win.
Adding a deep threat like Keswick into the ’Cats’ offense keeps defenses from collapsing on NU’s interior forward threats in senior Grace Sullivan and sophomore Tayla Thomas. With more space to create inside, Sullivan and Thomas combined for 31 points and 17 rebounds.
“It’s going to be crucial for us all year,” McKeown said. “I think we have the ability to make nine, 10, even 12 threes in a game, and I think that would make Grace, Tayla and, more importantly, my life easier.”
After being deadlocked 58-58 late in the fourth, Keswick went on a 6-0 run by herself, drilling her fifth and sixth 3-pointers of the game. NU went on to win a narrow 75-68 game at home and improve to 5-0, the best start to the season for the ’Cats since 2019.
As the ’Cats look to stay hot nearing the start of Big Ten play, they will look to Keswick as a sparkplug off the bench capable of changing a game.
“I always have a towel on the bench to keep my hands nice and warm,” Keswick said. “I think that knowing when Coach puts me in, that means he wants me to shoot it, and that confidence just keeps me ready.”
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