Four in a row for women

Christmas holidays are a time where GCSU students, faculty, and personnel can all depart from the hustle-and-bustle schedule of the everyday college lifestyle.

For the GCSU women’s basketball team, the 13-day break from Dec. 13-26 was much welcomed and appreciated.

And since returning, head coach John Carrick and his Bobcats have been on an impressive stretch that has involved six wins in seven games. Four of those victories have come against Peach Belt Conference foes.

The Bobcats stand at 11-4 overall on the season and at 4-1 in conference play they are in first place in the conference’s Western Division.

GCSU has posted wins against No. 11 Clayton State, Georgia Southwestern, Armstrong Atlantic and Columbus State in conference action, while falling to Lander for its only conference loss this season.

The key to success during this recent resurgence has been defensive intensity.

GCSU has held its conference opponents to 60 points or less in every conference game this season.

“We have had a change in energy,” senior center Antoinette Reames said. “We are more focused come game time.”

Reames, who was sidelined with an ankle injury earlier this season, forcing her to miss two games, has come back with a vengeance. Since returning Nov. 11 against Tuskegee, Reames is averaging 11 points and 8.45 rebounds per game.

“I’ve been motivated more and coming into this season set personal goals for myself,” Reames said. “We have a lot of potential as a team. We just have to stay focused.”

During the recent defensive stand, GCSU has keyed in on rebounding more frequently, specifically on the defensive glass. The Bobcats have accumulated 217 boards in the five conference games played, 147 of which have been on the defensive end of the floor.

“Coach has kept reiterating to us that defense wins games,” junior guard Dominique Huffin said. “We haven’t been playing great on offense, so we have to bring our best defensive effort to every game.”

The philosophy has spread to other team members as well.

Senior point guard Shandrea Moore, averaging six assists per game in conference play, has noticed a shift in energy too.

“We are beginning to click as a team,” Moore said. “Defense is going to win games for us and Coach has drilled that into our minds.”

GCSU most recently squared off against Western Division foe Columbus State on Wednesday, garnering a 53-45 victory.

The Bobcats were led by Jordan’s 15 points, while Reames collected her fifth double-double of the campaign with a 14 point and 10 rebound performance. Senior guard Candice Clark had 10 points.

The Bobcat game plan to limit Columbus State’s senior All-American forward Phebe Smith worked to near perfection. Averaging close to 19 points per game on the year, the Bobcats were able to hold Smith to just seven points on the night.

“We kept her off the boards and limited her touches,” Carrick said. “We focused on limiting her in practice and the girls responded well.”

Smith, sister of Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, was limited mainly by the strong help defense the Bobcats were able to implement.

“We brought energy tonight, did the small things right, and that equated to a win,” Carrick said after the win.

The Bobcat defense was also able to hold the Cougars 25 points below their season average in scoring.

“If we keep bringing this energy, we will be fine,” Carrick said. “We just have to bring energy even when we aren’t playing well.”

Both teams struggled offensively. GCSU shot just 35.7 percent from the field, while Columbus was held to 31.5 percent.

GCSU also defeated Armstrong Atlantic 58-50 this past Saturday in Savannah. The Bobcats were led by junior guard Chimere Jordan with 13 points, all coming in the second half. Huffin also chipped in with 10.

GCSU was able to capitalize on the Pirate turnovers, turning the 21 miscues into 18 points. The Bobcats bench added 20 in the victory.

The Bobcats shot just 31 percent from the floor in the game, reiterating the focus on defense winning games.

GCSU is now on a four-game winning streak after starting off conference play with a loss against Lander.

The Bobcats will close out its current four game road trip this Saturday at the Montevallo and again Monday at Flagler College. Tip-off against Montevallo is set for 1:30 p.m., while the Flagler game will start at 5:30 p.m.

Posted by Chandler Lee on Jan 22 2010. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry