Rutgers center Sakima Walker (12) defends against Harvard during an NCAA college basketball game in Piscataway, N.J., Friday, Nov. 19, 2021. South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is adding junior college player of the year Sakima Walker to her roster. Walker posted on social media Friday, May 5, 2023, she was joining the Gamecocks.(AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis, File)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley is adding junior college player of the year Sakima Walker to her roster.
Walker announced on social media on Friday that she was joining the Gamecocks. They lost seven seniors, including three-time All-American Aliyah Boston from this season’s Final Four team.
The 6-foot-5 Walker spent her first two years in college at Rutgers before transferring to Northwest Florida State College, where she helped the team win the junior college national title this season.
Walker, who is from Columbus, Ohio, was named the NJCAA Division I women’s player of the year. She averaged 16.7 points and 8.2 rebounds in 32 games last season.
Walker is the second transfer added by Staley, joining former Oregon guard Te-Hina Paopao.
Along with Boston, leading scorer Zia Cooke, defensive stopper Brea Beal and starters Victaria Saxton and Kierra Fletcher have left the program for the WNBA or completed their eligibility.
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