Former UK Star Samarie Walker Honored for Play Overseas

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former University of Kentucky women’s basketball star Samarie Walker has been honored for her strong play overseas this season in Sweden and Lithuania as she has been named the Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Damligan Forward of the Year, it was announced recently. 

On top of being named the best forward in the league, Walker was also named to the Eurobasket.com All-Swedish Damligan First Team as a forward. She was one of only five players to earn first-team honors. 

Walker, who played the first 25 games of the season with Visby before ending the year with seven games for Suduva, averaged 13.1 points per game this season, shooting 42.7% in two-point field goals and 62.9% from the free-throw line. Walker nearly averaged a double-double on the season with 9.8 rebounds per game, including 1.75 assists per game and 2.0 steals per game. 

Walker played her best early in the season, scoring 20 or more points in five of her first seven games. Her best performance of the season game against Telge, in which she scored 30 points, hitting 14-of-19 from the field with 12 rebounds and six steals. 

A native of West Carrollton, Ohio, Walker transferred to Kentucky in 2010 after playing one semester at Connecticut. She played in 96 games for the Wildcats with 80 consecutive starts and ranks in the top 10 on UK’s career list for double-doubles with 20, rebounding average at 8.1 and blocked shots with 96. 

She quickly made a name for herself midway through her sophomore season when she averaged 8.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, helping UK win the Southeastern Conference regular season title and earn a berth to the Elite Eight. She increased her averages to 13.3 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in that NCAA Tournament run, earning her NCAA All-Regional Tournament Team honors. 

As a junior, she led the team in rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game), steals (72), field-goal percentage (.524) and blocks (56) and was named to the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Defensive team by league coaches. Her senior season, she averaged 8.7 points and a career-high 8.7 rebounds, which ranked fourth overall in the SEC. Walker graduated in May of 2013 with a degree in merchandising, apparel and textiles.

For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter and Instagram, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.