Walker Receives Big Ten Weekly Award for First Time

PARK RIDGE, Ill. -- Sophomore Ta'Shia Walker (Lansing, Mich./J.W. Sexton HS) of the University of Michigan women's basketball team has been selected as the Big Ten Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced today (Monday, Dec. 26). Walker was recognized by the conference after her career performance at St. Bonaventure last Friday (Dec.23), as the Wolverines defeated the Bonnies 68-60 to even their record at 6-6 heading into this Thursday's (Dec. 29) Big Ten opener at Illinois (7 p.m. CST).

Walker

Walker posted a career-high 32 points on 13-of-17 shooting, including 2-of-4 from three-point range, and made 4-of-6 from the free throw line. She added a career-best four assists in addition to a game-high nine rebounds. Walker nearly outscored the entire St. Bonaventure team in the first half, finishing with 18 of Michigan's 32 points while the Bonnies managed just 19 points. Her 32 points are the highest total of any Wolverine since Jan. 10, 2004, when Jennifer Smith (2001-04) scored 33 points against Indiana.

Walker's 32-point performance puts her past the 500-point mark for her young career (514) and places her 39th on Michigan's all-time scoring list. She leads the Wolverines in 2005-06 with team-best averages in scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) in 24.7 minutes per game.

Among conference players Walker is tied for 10th in both scoring and field goal percentage (.500). She lists ninth in the Big Ten in rebounding and leads the league in offensive boards with a 4.25 average per game. Walker's 13 field goals against St. Bonaventure tie the top individual mark in the conference this season.

Walker has led or shared the lead in scoring in seven of Michigan's 12 games this season and has posted double figures in scoring eight times. She is averaging 12.9 points in 40 career games wearing the Maize and Blue.

This marks the second Big Ten weekly award for the Wolverines this season. Freshman Stephany Skrba (Richmond Hill, Ontario/Langstaff Secondary School) earned the conference's first award of the season on Nov. 14 after averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds at the season-opening Women's Sports Foundation Challenge in Eugene, Ore. (Nov. 11-12). The last time two U-M players earned the accolade in one season was during 2003-04, when Smith and Tabitha Pool (2002-05) combined for three citations.

Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423

University of Michigan Athletics

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