Last Tuesday Gonzaga beat BYU 71-59 in the WCC women’s tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Zags only scored 39 PTS in a loss at BYU last month but got revenge in the rematch to make the 13th NCAA tourney appearance in school history. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Gonzaga SR Cierra Walker about being a great shooter and winning the conference tourney.
Growing up you were a 3-time national finalist for the NFL Punt, Pass & Kick competition: how did you get into football, and do some/all of those skills transfer to the basketball court? I got into football because my dad used to play in college and even played professionally for a little bit overseas in Europe. I grew up watching a lot of football at home and enjoyed it. I got into this competition when I was 8 years old because that is when you can start competing in it. My dad and I would go out and throw the ball around and so I got pretty good at the punt/pass/kick. I competed in it until the ending age (which is 15 years old). Being a 3-time national finalist, I got to travel all expenses paid with my mom and dad to Indianapolis, San Diego, and Baltimore. At all 3 locations we got to go watch NFL playoff games for those home teams, and I got to go out at halftime and perform 1 of the given events based off my score from earlier in the day. My regional team was also the Seattle Seahawks: each year I competed and got to go out at halftime of their games and do the same thing. Being 9 years old and kicking a 20-yard field goal in front of those thousands of fans was definitely cool…and stressful! Since the competition is based off of accuracy, you only get one punt/pass/kick. It is then a cumulative score based on how accurate all three things are. The competition is largely mental, and it definitely translated onto the basketball court. Basketball is largely mental: you have to be focused, not get too down if you mess up on one thing, and be able to use all of your preparation to lead you to success in the big moment. I also worked very hard with my dad to get good at these events, which showed me that my hard work can take me as far as I am willing to go. Playing in front of crowds was also nothing new to me after performing the punt/pass/kick at halftime of an NFL game. To say the least, this competition helped me develop skills to use on the court as well!
In January of 2019 as a player at Vandy you scored a career-high 25 PTS/8-12 3PM in a game against Auburn: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? I remember that game very well. I definitely was in a zone and remember that each shot I got up I thought was going in. The game feels really good when you see your first one or two shots go in: for me, it felt like anything I threw up there was going to drop.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose Gonzaga? I decided to transfer because I was lacking a team chemistry/winning culture. I felt that it was in my best interest and it was time for me to go in a different direction. I chose Gonzaga for those two reasons. It had that authentic, genuine team chemistry and family atmosphere. It was not forced: you could just tell everyone liked each other and wanted to be around one another. It also is a program that has national recognition for being a really good basketball school. It may not be a “Power 5” conference, but it was a team that could compete against those schools. For both those reasons, it felt like the fit that I had been missing.
You play for Coach Lisa Fortier, whose husband Craig is 1 of your assistant coaches: what is it like to play for a married couple?! To me, playing for a married couple is not something I really think about. At this point it is just a fact for us! I do think it is cool though to see them work together as a team and have a functioning dynamic.
Last year you were named a Division I-AAA ADA Scholar Athlete: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? I have always been a very hard worker. I prioritized my grades and my on-court performance before really having a social life. My freshman year was very different than high school. I had to really find out the meaning of time management. I wanted to be a true “student-athlete” and make sure that my grades got a lot of attention. I was so used to getting A’s in high school that even getting my 1st B in college was different for me. The lowest grade I have ever gotten was in college in my hardest class: it was a B-. I had to find study habits that worked best for me and then stick with them. I spent a lot of time in study hall, with tutors, and in office hours. Since I am on my 6th year of college, I am currently pursuing my 2nd master’s degree, and it is so nice to see my hard work paying off.
Last November you scored 6 PTS in a 4-PT loss to Stanford: how close did you come to beating the defending champs? Stanford is an amazing team led by an amazing coach. To have played them so close was great for our team to see. Although the final score was not what we wanted it to be, it showed us that we can compete with the best teams in the nation. It showed us things we can work on throughout our season, and it really showed us we cannot only be good for 30 minutes, or even 38: it takes a full 40 minutes to beat a team like Stanford. It was also fun to play them in the Kennel in front of our fans and have that energy for the whole game.
This year you lead the team with 43.6 3P% and have made 31-34 FTs: what is the secret to being a great shooter? I have spent countless hours in the gym working on my shooting. I think the work that I have put in has put me in the spot I am in. I do not take many off-days and will do a shooting workout before practices and home games. The more work I put in, the more confident I can be on the court knowing that I am prepared for whatever shot I am about to get. That goes along with the mental piece. If I miss my first couple shots, then I cannot get in my head about it. I have to remember/trust the work I have put in and know that I will knock down the next one. I think shooting is about putting in the work and then mentally trusting the work you have done.
You have 4 teammates averaging 10-11 PPG this year: how important has that offensive balance been to your team’s success? Having offensive balance is huge for any team’s success. It allows teams to look to more than just one person. If there is only one person averaging double-digits, or significantly more points than anyone else, then that is where all the focus of the opponent is going to be. With multiple players being able to score for our team, if you take away one of them then we have more who can do it too. We also have a balance of inside and outside games: take one away and we still got the other one!
Last Tuesday in the WCC tourney title game you scored 7 PTS in a win over BYU: what did it mean to you to win the title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? Winning the conference title last weekend was amazing. We needed to win that to ensure our NCAA run. Being in my final year as a college athlete, that meant the world to me to go out the way we did. We beat our rivals after losing to them twice in the regular season, so that win was a remarkable feeling. Going out in my final year with a title/trophy was a feeling that is unmatched. The feeling right after we won and in the locker room was nothing but good vibes. Our whole team was celebrating, giving tons of hugs, screaming, smiling: just truly the best way to go out.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? Due to our strength of schedule and how we performed this year, I think we deserve a decent seed. Whatever seed we get chosen as and scheduled for, we will be prepared for this postseason.