The All State

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs should be considered the most dangerous team in the 2011 OVC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament.

They are the reigning OVC Tournament Champions. They have won the title two years in a row.

The first time they were a fifth seed and last year they were the third seed.

Both times, they had to defeat No. 1 Eastern Illinois in the finals.

This year’s team has 10 players from last year’s championship team. Of those 10 players, six were on both championship teams.

As a fifth seed this year, the Lady Govs will have to defeat three teams to earn their third title in a row.

First, they must defeat No. 8 Murray state at noon, Wednesday, March 2.

They would then have to go on to face No. 4 Eastern Illinois at noon, Thursday, March 3.

Afterwards, they would have to defeat No. 1 Tennessee Tech, noon, Friday, March 4, for a chance at the title again at 3 p.m., Saturday, March 5. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

Clutch players make big plays for their team when they need it. Lady Govs’ junior guard Whitney Hanley proved she was a clutch player with key baskets in the last two minutes of the Lady Govs 63-57 win against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in Cookeville, Tenn., Saturday, Feb. 19.

The game was a 40-minute battle that included 21 lead changes. The Lady Govs were looking to get their fifth win in a row and stop the Golden Eagles from clinching the Ohio Valley Conference regular season title.

“We fought hard tonight. Anyone that was in the gym or saw this game tonight saw a tremendous basketball game,” said Lady Govs head coach Carrie Daniels.

“I’m so excited that our team was able to pull together and get this win. It was a back-and-forth battle for 40 minutes.”

The largest lead of the game was six points by the Lady Govs in the last 20 seconds of the game. The Lady Govs had four players score in double figures and the Golden Eagles had three.

Lady Govs senior’ guard Brooke Faulkner led all scorers with 14 points. Freshman guard Nicole Olszewski scored 12.

Both sophomore forward Meghan Bussabarger and junior center Jasmine Rayner added 11 points. The Golden Eagles’ freshman forward Molly Heady scored 12 points. Freshman guard Brianna Jordan scored 11 and junior guard Tacarra Hayes added 10.

Hanley only scored five points, but they sealed the win for the Lady Govs.

“We put four players in double figures and then there’s Whitney Hanley,” Daniels said. “She had one field goal, and then a pair of free throws, all with less than two minutes to go. I think it speaks volumes about how far our team has come and where we are right now.”

Tech’s Jordan made a 3-pointer with two minutes and 10 seconds left in the game to give the Golden Eagles a one-point lead, 55-54.

Hanley responded 24 seconds later with a three-pointer, her first field goal of the game.

After Hanley’s shot, the Lady Govs expanded their lead from the free throw line.

They were ahead 61-57 when Hanley made the last two shots of the game from the free throw line for the win.

The win improves the Lady Govs current win streak to five, their best streak of the season.

They only have two games left in the regular season, both at home.

They play Eastern Illinois, next, the team that beat who by 21 points in December and is currently tied with them for fourth place in the conference at 11 and five.

“This gives us a lot of momentum. To take a five-game win streak into the final home stand is important, but the next game coming up is the most important one,” Daniels said. “This is where we want to be playing our best.”

The game against Illinois will tip off at 5:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 24, in the Dunn Center. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT

Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs survived a strong second half surge by the TSU Lady Tigers and earned their third straight win at home, 74-66, Saturday, Feb. 12.

When these two teams last played one month ago at TSU, the Lady Govs dominated the Lady Tigers to a 60-45 victory.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game at the Dunn Center Saturday night, it appeared history would repeat itself as the Lady Govs established a 20-point lead.

However, missed shots and turnovers allowed the Lady Tigers to claw their way back within two points of the Lady Govs with one minute and 19 seconds left to play.

“We came out in the second half, got things going, really got into a flow, got a big lead and then everything kind of fell apart,” said head coach Carrie Daniels.

After a slow start, Lady Govs senior guard Brooke Faulkner made her second three pointer in the first half and ignited a 13-4 run that gave the Lady Govs the lead at halftime, 34-26.

Faulkner led the team with 10 points in the first half. She finished the game with 14.

The Lady Govs’ leading scorer junior guard Whitney Hanley did not score in the first half. She did, however, explode offensively in the second half.

Whitney made her fourth three pointer in the first eight minutes of the second half on her way to 17 total points for the game. She went four of 10 from three point range.

It was all a part of the 24-12 run by the Lady Govs to start the second half that inevitably had them ahead of the Lady Tigers by 20 points, 58-38.

Instead of lying down, the Lady Tigers roared back with a 27-9 run. Lady Tiger forward, Taylor Foster led the charge with 16-second half points. Foster was one of three Lady Tigers who scored double digits.

“We knew that TSU wasn’t going to lie down and give us the game. They were going to continue to fight. You have to give them a lot of credit,” Daniels said.

Ahead by only two points, 67-65, freshman guard Nicole Olszewski made a move on a Lady Tiger defender that drove her to the basket and finish with a layup to end the Lady Govs offensive drought.

Afterwards, the Lady Govs defense clamped down and allowed the Lady Tigers to score only one more point from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, the Lady Govs made five of six from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win.

“They know what they didn’t do letting them back in the game and what they had to do to pull out the win. Some teams that let a team like that back in it and then letting it get so close as it did would kind of shut down,” Daniels said. “TSU had all the momentum there late. They had it, they were going with it and they were making plays. Some teams would fold.”

“They would shut down and fold and just crumble. They didn’t. They maintained their composure. They were able to pull it out, regain themselves and make plays down the stretch and knock down some free throws as well.”

Olszewski, Hanley and Faulkner were three of five Lady Govs who scored double digits.

Olszewski and junior center Jasmine Rayner scored 10.

Senior forward Dalila Thomas added 11 points along with six rebounds and three blocks.

The team shot 40 percent (23-58) from the field and 72 percent (21-29) from the free throw line. They also scored 26 points from turnovers.

The Lady Tigers shot 42 percent (27-65) from the field and outscored the Lady Govs 24-12 in the paint. Their bench scored 22 points.

“Any win at this stage of the game is a big win,” Daniels said.

The win clinches a spot in the OVC Tournament for the Lady Govs and improves them to 10-16, 9-5 OVC.

They have four games remaining on their schedule. Next they travel to Jacksonville State, one of two games on the road before finishing with two games at home. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT

Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs earned two home victories in a row when they defeated Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State, 69-59, Saturday, Feb. 5.

The Lady Govs came out hot and kept the Racers in their rear view mirror the entire first half. The Racers made some pushes, but were unable to make the final pass before the finish line.

“It was a game of runs. We made some good runs, Murray made some good runs; Murray is a tremendous team,” said head coach Carrie Daniels. “I don’t think their record at all shows the type of team that they are. You have got to give them a lot of credit.”

“We knew they weren’t going to go anywhere, they were going to give us a tough game and give us all we that can handle,” Daniels said.

That’s exactly what they did.

Five Lady Govs scored double-digit points. Junior guard Whitney Hanley led the team with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Junior center Jasmine Rayner and sophomore forward Meghan Bussabarger both scored 12 points. Seniors Dalila Thomas and Brooke Faulkner added 10 points each.

Mariah Robinson led the Racers with 17 points. Jessica Winfrey was one rebound away from a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds.

The Lady Govs shot 40 percent (12-of-30) from the field and 100 percent (6-of-6) from the free throw line in the first half. They led by as much as 12 points and went into halftime ahead by five, 33-28.

However, Mallory Schwab opened up the second half with back-to-back three-pointers that gave the Racers their first lead of the game, 34-33.

They would regain the lead again with 13:29 remaining in the game, 43-41, but it was short lived.

Hanley capped off a Lady Govs’ 8-0 run with her own three-pointer. It established a lead that APSU would not relinquish the rest of the game.

“I’m very proud of my team for not giving up. I thought that we definitely made plays when we had too.”

“Players stepped up. I thought the difference in this game was we attacked.”

The win improves the Lady Govs to 9-16, 8-5 OVC. They are currently ranked fourth in the conference with five games remaining in the regular season.

They get one week of rest before taking on eighth ranked Tennessee State Saturday, Feb. 12 at home on Dave Loos Court.

“We are going to enjoy this. I’m just really proud of them for pulling through.” TAS

By MARLON SCOTT
Senior Staff Writer

After starting the game from behind, the Lady Govs overtook the Morehead Eagles in Johnson Arena Saturday, Jan. 29, and established an 11-point lead with 5:25 remaining in the first half of the game.

However, the offense helped them take over the game in the first half disappeared in the second. The lack of offense combined with defensive breakdowns helped the Eagles outscore the Lady Govs 40-26 in the second half and send them back to APSU with a 58-70 loss.

“Obviously in the first half we battled back from a deficit,” said Lady Govs head coach Carrie Daniels. “I was proud that we came back and took the lead by 11, but I thought once we got the lead, we did not know how to play with that lead. We let Morehead back in the game. I do not think we did a very good job in the second half. We let them gain confidence and take the momentum.”

It was the Lady Govs second loss in a row and fourth road loss this month. They finished January 3-5 and are currently ranked fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 7-16, 6-5 OVC record. They split the series against Morehead 1-1.

The Eagles improved to 16-6, 9-2 OVC. They currently occupy the second spot in the conference, one game behind top-seeded Tennessee Tech.

The Lady Govs shot 42 percent (15-of-36) from the field in the first half. They scored 24 of their 32 points in the paint and outrebounded the Eagles 24-17.

Senior forward Dalila Thomas and sophomore forward Meghan Bussabarger led the way with eight points each. Bussabarger went on to earn a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas finished the game with 14 points.

Although the Lady Govs dominated the stat sheet in the first half, the Eagles started taking over the game at the end of the first half. The OVC Preseason Player of the Year, Chynna Bozeman made a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the half and ignited an Eagles 7-0 run that left the Lady Govs ahead by only two points at halftime, 32-30.

The Eagles came out in the second half with the same momentum they were gaining at the end of the first. At the 15:48 mark, they tied the game at 38. The Eagles then followed up with an 8-0 run.

Afterwards, what little offense the Lady Govs generated in the second half completely vanished for over six minutes.

“We couldn’t get better looks than we did,” Daniels said. “I thought we got a lot of great looks in the offense, we just couldn’t put the ball in the hole.”

By the time the Lady Govs recovered from their scoring drought, they were down by 12 points and would not get within 10 of the Eagles for the rest of the game. While the Lady Govs were cooling down, Bozeman heated up. She scored 17 of her total 30 points in the second half.

“I thought Bozeman got hot, we gave her some looks from three, but as well she got some drives to the basket,” Daniels said. “Defensively we just didn’t step up and do as good a job that we needed to do.”

Freshman guard Nicole Olszewski was one of the few bright spots offensively for the Lady Govs in the second half. She scored nine points. Olszewski led the team with 15 total points.

Daniels summed up the team’s performance at Morehead.

“Very disappointing, because after we came back in the first half, I thought it was going to be a difference, but then I think everything else, we just kind of had a meltdown and didn’t recover.” TAS

By JANNA SIMPKINS
Guest Writer

Some of us know her by her famous squat, but most of us know her as the APSU Lady Govs head basketball coach.

There are lots of things that define Carrie Daniels- OVC Champion (1995-1996), APSU Alum, coach of two time OVC Champions (2008-2009 and 2009-2010), but most importantly she is a mother.

“I am first and foremost a mother to a wonderful son who was sent from heaven above.” A quote from Daniel’s Facebook, went on to say, “I am so blessed.”

Most mothers claim to be blessed, but most don’t go through the struggles Carrie did. “After suffering through three miscarriages, my pregnancy with him was considered high risk and he came a month early.”

Dalton came while Daniels was still coaching at Western Kentucky, on the night of Selection Sunday, the day the Lady Toppers were selected to travel to Georgia to take on Rutgers. Needless to say, Daniels missed that trip to Georgia, but there would be a couple more NCAA trips to date to make up for it (2008-Michigan and 2010-Knoxville).

If you have class or work in the Dunn Center in the afternoon, you have probably run into her son. “He is good about listening to other adults, he usually finds something to keep him occupied during practice” said Autumn Davis, athletic trainer. “Dalton feels very comfortable in the Dunn Center, or any gym for that matter.” Daniels went on to say “He has grown up in gyms.”

“Depending on what time practice ends I head to daycare to pick Dalton up or send one of my managers to get him, which Dalton prefers.” After school, he spends time in the gym with his mom. “During practice, managers keep an eye on him.” Davis said, sometimes he just watches practice. “As Dalton has gotten older, I have noticed his interest growing with the game of basketball.”

“At one point last year after picking him up after school, he informed me we had lost like eight straight games.

Needless to say this was a down point for me and the team. He told me that if we didn’t win the tournament we wouldn’t be able to cut down the nets.

He asked if we won that year if he could cut down the net. At the point winning the tournament was a far cry the way we were playing but I nodded my head and said, ‘Of course you can Dalton.’”

“Of course the rest is history when we won the second OVC Championship. I still don’t know how he made it to the court that fast but as soon as I turned around, he was right there asking, ‘When do I get to cut down the nets mommy?’

Not only does Dalton spend time with his mom at practice, but he likes watching basketball film too. “What’s funny is when I’m at home watching film he’ll ask who I’m watching and then he’ll have comments about them.”

Davis went on to say, “Practice and game days are both a good way for Carrie and Dalton to spend mother son time together.” With Daniels’ busy schedule she spends more time with her son than most moms.

“I always know that regardless of how my day goes, how my team performs, that I’m going to come home to my smiling son and he’s going to wrap his arms around me and tell me how much he loves me. It is at that moment that puts everything back into perspective.” TAS