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Xamiya Walton, a sophomore guard for Northwestern, transformed her game in the 2024-25 season, starting 18 of 29 games and leading the team in three-pointers made. After a quiet freshman year, she averaged 29 minutes per game and shot 38.7% from beyond the arc.
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When sophomore guard Xamiya Walton first arrived on campus, she had already put together a well-decorated high school career. At Butler College Prep in Chicago, she became the stateâs top-ranked player of the 2024 class, had been named an AP All-State honoree three times and holds the IHSA record for three-pointers made in a game with 15 (!!). But when she got to Evanston, those credentials mostly stayed hidden. In 27 appearances in the 2024-25 season, she averaged just 1.7 points in 8.6 minutes and was never able to enter the starting lineup.
Waltonâs sophomore season was something else entirely. In 29 games, she started 18 times and jumped all the way up to 29 minutes per game while also leading the Wildcats in both three-pointers made and efficiency, hitting 43 shots from beyond the arc at a 38.7% clip. That shotmaking was a necessity, as the Wildcats this past season struggled to generate much of any offense, especially from three-point range, where they shot just 30.6% as a team, the second-worst mark in the Big Ten. And in that void, it didnât take long for her to step up.
Entering the season, Walton was ready to set the tone early and establish her role on the team. In the season opener where Northwestern was up against the ropes by IU Indy, Walton knocked down a key triple late in the 67-64 victory that topped off a 17-point outing on an efficient 6-for-12 shooting. Despite it coming against a team that the Wildcats were heavily favored over (ESPN gave Northwestern a 95.3% chance of winning the game at tipoff), it was a sign of a player who was ready and able to take on a larger role, despite it being another month before McKeown gave her the first start of her collegiate career.
But when that opportunity did arrive, Walton showed what she was capable of with real minutes. In her increased role, Walton was able to jump up to an average of 7.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.6 rebounds and hit multiple three-pointers in 15 games. Behind that increase in production was the aforementioned 38.7% three-point rate that wasnât only a team best, but an impactful mark that commanded respect from opponents.
If there was one night that showed what kind of player Walton could be, that came on Jan. 18 in Champaign, Illinois. Facing the No. 25-ranked Illini, the âCats quickly fell into a 15-point deficit in the third quarter and looked like they were on their way to another disappointing finish.
Xamiya Walton was the top-ranked player in Illinois' 2024 class, a three-time AP All-State honoree, and holds the IHSA record for three-pointers made in a game with 15.
In her sophomore season, Walton started 18 games, averaged 29 minutes per game, and led the Wildcats with 43 three-pointers made at a 38.7% shooting percentage.
The Wildcats struggled offensively, particularly from three-point range, finishing the season with a team shooting percentage of just 30.6%, the second-worst in the Big Ten.
Walton received her first collegiate start a month into the season, after making a significant impact in the season opener against IU Indy.

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But Walton would have none of it, as she helped ignite an 8-0 Northwestern run that cut the lead down to seven as the Wildcats entered the final quarter of play. That carried over to the fourth, where even with Illinois trying to push back on their efforts, Walton responded: a layup that brought the game down to just two points, a triple to bring NU within one, and then hitting a career-high fifth three-pointer that kept the momentum in the Wildcatsâ favor.
She finished the night with a career-high 19 points on an impressive 7-for-11 shooting behind those five threes. The âCats would ultimately fall 74-71, but Waltonâs night was one of the most complete performances of the season by a player not named Grace Sullivan, a dominant showing that short of an upset by Northwestern.
Like many players in catch-and-shoot roles, her one big weakness is that when her three balls arenât falling, she has little to no way to score. Walton rarely attacks the basket or creates off the dribble, drawing just 27 free throws in 29 games. In scoreless nights against Rutgers, USC and Michigan, her offensive impact was effectively zero.
While sheâs done well in that role, developing some secondary scoring, whether that be getting to the line, driving to the basket or pulling up from midrange, is the next step in her game. Until that happens, defenses will be able to concede the three to her on nights when the shot doesnât fall and take her out of the game.
With coach Carla Berube now taking over the program following McKeownâs retirement, the shape of this yearâs roster is still being formed via the transfer portal. Berube has already added three guards via the portal with freshmen Camdyn Nelson, sophomore Lexi Blue and sophomore Lily Carmody in addition to freshman forward Jasmyn Cooper while sophomore forward Tayla Thomas, one of the best rebounders in the country, has found her new home in Minnesota.
With all that change happening in just one offseason, a returning player like Walton sets her up as a key piece to the Wildcatsâ success in Berubeâs inaugural season. Her shooting ability was never in question coming into college, but whether it would translate is something that the 2025-26 season answered. Leading the team in threes, the Illinois eruption, the 18 starts: thatâs no longer the ceiling. Itâs the baseline.