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3/21/2025 4:10:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Walker scores 19 second-half points in WBB's 73-60 win over GCU
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – There's just something about putting that NCAA logo on the court that brings out the best in Baylor senior guard Jada Walker.
Using some of the postseason magic that saw her put up a career-high 28 points in last year's second-round upset of Virginia Tech, the former Kentucky transfer scored 19 second-half points in helping the 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Bears knock off 13th-seeded Grand Canyon, 73-60, Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Foster Pavilion.
"I don't know what it is," said Walker, who scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season, hitting 7-of-9 from the floor. "I feel like when we're n those win-or-go-home moments, I really don't want to go home. So, my determination to make those plays for my team just amps even higher. I hit crazy shots, halfcourt shots, all types of shots."
Scoreless in the first half, Walker was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and scored 11 points in the third quarter, with Baylor (28-7) stretching a three-point halftime lead out to a 53-47 margin going into the final period.
"If I need to put NCAA in the front of every game," fifth-year senior guard Sarah Andrews said, "or whatever Jada needs me to do for her to be Jada Walker, I'm going to do it. Nobody can stay in front of her. I always tell her to be aggressive, you can finish at the rim. I believe in Jada. I'll be like, 'Go, girl, just go!' But it's about her having that confidence."
The Bears also got a double-double from Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh with 25 points and 11 rebounds. In the pivotal third quarter, Nettie scored 11 points and was 5-of-7 from the floor.
"She literally missed two that, I thought, were gimmees," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said of the 6-3 Vonleh, who was an efficient 10-of-13 from the field. "then, you look down and see what she did, and you just kind of shake your head that you have those high expectations. I think the beauty of Nettie is she's still figuring it out. She's running really hard."
Grand Canyon (32-3), which came into the game riding a 30-game winning streak, hit five of its first seven shots and jumped out to a 10-6 lead, forcing Collen to call a timeout just over three minutes into the game.
"You know I don't want to call that timeout, but I felt the nerves," Collen said. "I felt that we needed to settle down. . . . They were playing faster than we were ready for them to play. We weren't reading body language very well. We got back-cut twice. They just put their head down and went downhill."
The Bears also struggled at times to get the ball inside to Vonleh, either turning the ball over or settling for outside shots.
Walker, who added five rebounds, four assists and a steal, said it wasn't frustrating for the guards. "But I think for her, she's thinking, 'Oh, don't throw me the ball.' Just knowing that we might have to swing it around a little bit so they can actually go out and guard the other people. We might have to attack, draw someone and then kick it to her, so she's not always having to work so hard."
Maybe the most frustrating part was when Baylor failed to separate in the second quarter, despite the Lopes sitting out Trinity San Antonio, Tiarra Brown and Laura Erikstrup for the whole period with two fouls apiece.
Able to finally get Vonleh going, the Bears reeled off nine unanswered points in a three-minute stretch and went up 31-25 before Anna Ostlie drained a 3-pointer at the end of the half to make it a one-possession game, 31-28.
"Our key pieces were in foul trouble, but we weathered the storm," said GCU head coach Molly Miller, who reportedly will fill the vacancy at Arizona State. "I was really proud of those reserves that came in, gave their all. They were battling, too, and the gap didn't widen. We felt good going into the second half."
The third quarter is when Walker got it going, trading buckets with Vonleh and hitting a 3-pointer that pushed Baylor's lead to 42-34 at the 5:10 mark of the third quarter. Walker and Vonleh scored 12 points apiece in the quarter to keep pace with San Antonio, who scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the period.
"It's crazy that she took 26 shots in 26 minutes," Collen said of San Antonio, who was 12-of-26 from the floor but only 1-of-6 from 3-point range. "She was not hesitating to be the one for them."
While Baylor struggled to contain San Antonio, Collen credited Andrews for her smothering defense on UNLV transfer Alyssa Durazo-Frescas. The national leader with 124 made 3-pointers, Durazo-Frescas failed to hit a 3-pointer for just the second time all year and finished with a season-low four points, hitting just 1-of-6 from the floor and 0-for-3 outside the arc.
"I think I'm going to have to puff my inhaler," Andrews said, "because she had me running around the gym. But she can shoot the ball, she's one of the best shooters in the country. I knew I had a rough assignment, but I was really focused on, 'She's not going to score on me. What can I do to kind of switch it up, throw different looks at her."
The Bears' lead fluctuated in the four- to eight-point margin until Bella Fontlery knocked down a 3-pointer off a kick-out pass from Vonleh, stretching it out to a 71-59 cushion with right at 1 ½ minutes to play.
"I know that my teammates and my coaches believe in me," said Fontleroy, who had missed seven of her first nine shots from the floor and was just 1-of-4 from the line. "I think if I wouldn't have shot the ball, I think (Collen) would have been like, 'Hey, shoot the ball.' But just every thankful that I had the opportunity to impact our offense."
Baylor advances to the second round of the East Region and will face 25th-ranked and fifth-seeded Ole Miss (21-10) at 3 p.m. Sunday in a second-round game at the Foster Pavilion, with the winner earning a Sweet 16 berth in the region semifinals in Spokane, Washington.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – There's just something about putting that NCAA logo on the court that brings out the best in Baylor senior guard Jada Walker.
Using some of the postseason magic that saw her put up a career-high 28 points in last year's second-round upset of Virginia Tech, the former Kentucky transfer scored 19 second-half points in helping the 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Bears knock off 13th-seeded Grand Canyon, 73-60, Friday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Foster Pavilion.
"I don't know what it is," said Walker, who scored in double figures for the 22nd time this season, hitting 7-of-9 from the floor. "I feel like when we're n those win-or-go-home moments, I really don't want to go home. So, my determination to make those plays for my team just amps even higher. I hit crazy shots, halfcourt shots, all types of shots."
Scoreless in the first half, Walker was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and scored 11 points in the third quarter, with Baylor (28-7) stretching a three-point halftime lead out to a 53-47 margin going into the final period.
"If I need to put NCAA in the front of every game," fifth-year senior guard Sarah Andrews said, "or whatever Jada needs me to do for her to be Jada Walker, I'm going to do it. Nobody can stay in front of her. I always tell her to be aggressive, you can finish at the rim. I believe in Jada. I'll be like, 'Go, girl, just go!' But it's about her having that confidence."
The Bears also got a double-double from Colorado transfer Aaronette Vonleh with 25 points and 11 rebounds. In the pivotal third quarter, Nettie scored 11 points and was 5-of-7 from the floor.
"She literally missed two that, I thought, were gimmees," Baylor coach Nicki Collen said of the 6-3 Vonleh, who was an efficient 10-of-13 from the field. "then, you look down and see what she did, and you just kind of shake your head that you have those high expectations. I think the beauty of Nettie is she's still figuring it out. She's running really hard."
Grand Canyon (32-3), which came into the game riding a 30-game winning streak, hit five of its first seven shots and jumped out to a 10-6 lead, forcing Collen to call a timeout just over three minutes into the game.
"You know I don't want to call that timeout, but I felt the nerves," Collen said. "I felt that we needed to settle down. . . . They were playing faster than we were ready for them to play. We weren't reading body language very well. We got back-cut twice. They just put their head down and went downhill."
The Bears also struggled at times to get the ball inside to Vonleh, either turning the ball over or settling for outside shots.
Walker, who added five rebounds, four assists and a steal, said it wasn't frustrating for the guards. "But I think for her, she's thinking, 'Oh, don't throw me the ball.' Just knowing that we might have to swing it around a little bit so they can actually go out and guard the other people. We might have to attack, draw someone and then kick it to her, so she's not always having to work so hard."
Maybe the most frustrating part was when Baylor failed to separate in the second quarter, despite the Lopes sitting out Trinity San Antonio, Tiarra Brown and Laura Erikstrup for the whole period with two fouls apiece.
Able to finally get Vonleh going, the Bears reeled off nine unanswered points in a three-minute stretch and went up 31-25 before Anna Ostlie drained a 3-pointer at the end of the half to make it a one-possession game, 31-28.
"Our key pieces were in foul trouble, but we weathered the storm," said GCU head coach Molly Miller, who reportedly will fill the vacancy at Arizona State. "I was really proud of those reserves that came in, gave their all. They were battling, too, and the gap didn't widen. We felt good going into the second half."
The third quarter is when Walker got it going, trading buckets with Vonleh and hitting a 3-pointer that pushed Baylor's lead to 42-34 at the 5:10 mark of the third quarter. Walker and Vonleh scored 12 points apiece in the quarter to keep pace with San Antonio, who scored 14 of her game-high 27 points in the period.
"It's crazy that she took 26 shots in 26 minutes," Collen said of San Antonio, who was 12-of-26 from the floor but only 1-of-6 from 3-point range. "She was not hesitating to be the one for them."
While Baylor struggled to contain San Antonio, Collen credited Andrews for her smothering defense on UNLV transfer Alyssa Durazo-Frescas. The national leader with 124 made 3-pointers, Durazo-Frescas failed to hit a 3-pointer for just the second time all year and finished with a season-low four points, hitting just 1-of-6 from the floor and 0-for-3 outside the arc.
"I think I'm going to have to puff my inhaler," Andrews said, "because she had me running around the gym. But she can shoot the ball, she's one of the best shooters in the country. I knew I had a rough assignment, but I was really focused on, 'She's not going to score on me. What can I do to kind of switch it up, throw different looks at her."
The Bears' lead fluctuated in the four- to eight-point margin until Bella Fontlery knocked down a 3-pointer off a kick-out pass from Vonleh, stretching it out to a 71-59 cushion with right at 1 ½ minutes to play.
"I know that my teammates and my coaches believe in me," said Fontleroy, who had missed seven of her first nine shots from the floor and was just 1-of-4 from the line. "I think if I wouldn't have shot the ball, I think (Collen) would have been like, 'Hey, shoot the ball.' But just every thankful that I had the opportunity to impact our offense."
Baylor advances to the second round of the East Region and will face 25th-ranked and fifth-seeded Ole Miss (21-10) at 3 p.m. Sunday in a second-round game at the Foster Pavilion, with the winner earning a Sweet 16 berth in the region semifinals in Spokane, Washington.
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