Walker's career night carries Baylor past Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Jada Walker scored 26 of her career-high 28 points in the second half to lead Baylor to a 75-72 victory over Virginia Tech in the second round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Fifth-seeded Bears (26-7) advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021. Playing in her home state, Walker connected on 9 of 16 from the floor and 9 of 10 from the foul line.

Matilda Ekh paced fourth-seeded Virginia Tech (25-8) with 19 points, while Georgia Amoore and Clara Strack each finished with 18. Strack was once again filling in for All-American Elizabeth Kitley, who tore her ACL in the regular season finale.

Walker made the big plays down the stretch for the Bears, who won for the eighth time in the past nine games. She scored the team’s final nine points, and none were bigger than her three-point play with 19.1 seconds left that gave Baylor a 73-69 lead.

Following a 3-pointer by Amoore with 16 seconds remaining, Virginia Tech fouled Walker, who hit two free throws with 5.9 seconds remaining that gave the Bears a 75-72 lead. Virginia Tech was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds.

Sarah Andrews added 16 points for the Bears, and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs finished with 10.

BIG PICTURE

Baylor: The Bears survived despite missing nine free throws in the game. Walker connected on all four of her attempts in the fourth quarter to help Baylor survive and advance. The Bears had been knocked out of the tournament in the second round in each of the past two seasons.

Virginia Tech: A great season comes to an end for the ACC regular-season champions, who got behind the Bears early and struggled to get over the hump. Virginia Tech led just once in the game - late in the third quarter - and trailed the entire fourth quarter.

UP NEXT

Baylor will play the winner of Monday’s Southern Cal-Kansas game in a Portland 3 regional semifinal game Saturday in Oregon.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness