Jada Walker found her SEC stride in loss against No. 12 LSU

Jada Walker hasn’t begun conference play the way she envisioned. But that changed earlier today.

In Kentucky’s 78-69 loss to No. 12 LSU on Sunday, Walker scored a career-high 21 points. Moreover, Walker did it with efficiency. The freshman guard shot 7-13 from the field, 3-4 from beyond the arc and 3-3 from the charity stripe.

Kyra Elzy on her freshman

After the tough loss, second-year head coach Kyra Elzy discussed Walker’s breakout performance.

“Jada Walker stepped up to the challenge. I thought she played hard for 40 minutes,” Elzy said during the postgame press conference. “She stepped up and made big buckets, she was tough; she got us in our offense.”

The “big buckets” haven’t come easily to Walker so far in conference play. Entering Sunday’s contest, the 5-foot-7 guard was shooting just 31% from the field in conference play.

The SEC’s physical play seemed to be Walker’s kryptonite. The undersized guard couldn’t find shots in the paint over her towering opponents, and her typically superior speed was being matched step-for-step by her foes.

Walker’s true success came when she stopped fighting these inevitable factors and, instead, adapted to them. Elzy told the media what she saw Walker doing differently against LSU.

“Just slowing down,” Elzy said. “She was playing a little bit out of control. So, taking her time, trying to finish at the rim, if she didn’t have it, back it out.”

Walker’s stellar outing wasn’t limited to offense. The rookie was responsible for defending one of the best guards in the nation: Khayla Pointer. For most of the game, Walker was successful.

Through the first three quarters of the contest, Walker held Pointer to just nine points. Admittedly, Pointer did explode in the final frame. Nonetheless, the potential for greatness was there.

Elzy, for one, was happy with Walker’s defense.

“[Walker] had a tall, tall task to guard a veteran point guard in Khayla Pointer,” Elzy said. “That’s a lot to ask of a freshman and I thought she delivered.”

Mindset shift for Jada Walker

Changes on the court weren’t the only ones that boosted Walker’s performance. She went from averaging 11.5 points per game in non-conference play, to contributing only eight points a night versus SEC opponents.

The change could take a mental toll on anybody. However, Elzy believes Walker’s mentality has grown stronger from the struggle.

“Overall, I just think it was her mindset. A confidence that she had to step up and this team needed her and she did that,” Elzy said.

If Walker can replicate Sunday’s showing against other SEC opponents, she’ll have a bright future ahead of her. More importantly, UK will have another offensive threat for opponents to worry about.

Walker will have a week off to discover what was special about Sunday. When UK plays Texas A&M on Feb. 6, fans will see if lightning strikes twice.