Lady Walker and the Cleveland-VUU connection

RICHMOND, Virginia -- It’s a small world.

If you didn’t believe that before, you will with Virginia Union University basketball standout Lady Walker.

For starters, her first name really is Lady. She has the same name as her fraternal grandmother.

“It’s funny,” she said with a smile. “I’ll hear someone on the street say, ‘Hey, Lady!’ and I think they’re talking to me. And then I see they’re calling someone else.”

And, yes, she really is all of 6-foot-2, making her among the tallest ladies — and certainly the tallest named Lady — to don the Panthers’ maroon and steel colors.

Without much prodding, she shows a guest how she can touch the 10-foot rim — a rare quality for a woman. With an easy, short approach, she stretches her fingertips two inches over the east rim at VUU’s Barco-Stevens Hall without benefit of a warm-up.

Walker was a major cog in the Lady Panthers’ 28-3 CIAA and NCAA Atlantic Region championships last season. She began her final season at VUU with 1,028 points, 853 rebounds and 161 blocked shots.

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