By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
A point guard duo who finished March Madness stronger than Jada Walker and Jana Van Gytenbeek would be hard to find.
Walker was setting career-high marks in the Round of 32 and Sweet 16, while Van Gytenbeek was building on clutch minutes off the bench in Big 12 play. Both were having career years with their second team in college, No. 12 Baylor women’s basketball.
“I think I speak for both Jada and I, we got a lot of confidence at the end of the season,” Van Gytenbeek said. “It’s important that we carry it into the season and just ride our wave.”
Van Gytenbeek, a graduate guard, moved to Waco prior to the 2022-23 season and Walker, a senior, went through the ebbs and flows of a new program in 2023-24. Both filled a role in head coach Nicki Collen’s that is tough to pick up. Collen, a point guard in her college days, notably holds the position to a higher standard than any other on the team.
“Our point guards initiate everything we do. I certainly can get it out of their hands and run other actions and set plays,” Collen said. “But when it comes to how we just teach the game, it very much starts with the point guard having command out there. And I don’t think Jada had a lot of command, especially early in the season. I think she made plays because she’s an absolutely unbelievable little playmaker.”
Walker’s integration into the system was bumpy. The speedy guard’s playmaking ability helped the Bears put highlight reel plays on tape, but Collen was forced to reduce and simplify the playbook at times. But as the season went on, Walker only progressed as the system came to be second nature.
“I really just learned that I can tap into another side of myself that I didn’t know,” Walker said. “Going into this season, [I’m] just continuing to develop. Developing my shot, developing my passing and defense. Just small things I can work on to be better for my teammates.”
The hard work paid off for Walker in Baylor’s Round of 32 match against Virginia Tech. She racked up a career-high 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting. One round later, Walker went 7-for-13 from the floor with 15 points and seven assists, one shy of her career-high.
“I think I’ve learned to coach her better, and I think her confidence just really grew as much as the Virginia Tech game, she was elite,” Collen said. “She was really, really good against USC too. I mean, she didn’t have 28 points, but she had a really good floor game.”
In addition to Walker’s strong stretch, Van Gytenbeek hit a 3-pointer in seven straight Big 12 games. Not only did she step into the role of a reliable long range sniper, but also a trustworthy defender.
“Jana was playing really well down the stretch last year, and I think she’s had a really good offseason,” Collen said. “Her pace and her energy are really good. Where she’s really elevated her game is at the defensive end. She got steals being in the right spot and rotation. It’s a rarity in this game that someone makes as big a leap as she’s made on the defensive side of the ball.”
With power in the post in the likes of senior center Aaronette Vonleh and junior forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, the guards are looking forward to feeding the ball down low. And as a reward, the spacing provided by the bigs will set up Van Gytenbeek and Walker for more open threes.
“[Jana’s] definitely a shooter. She likes to get her threes. She’s a dynamic shooter, a key piece. Whenever she’s on the floor, people are going to deny her, and that opens the game up so much more,” Walker said. “And then me, I’m not a person that’s going to launch a three, but I will hit an open one, and that’s what I’ve been working on this season.”
The Bears will open the season against Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Foster Pavilion.
