MACON, GA. – UNF has survived the toughest of conference foes. The first day of play at the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Women’s Basketball Championship is no different. UNF entertained fans with one of the more stunning spectacles of day one, the No. 7 Osprey’s upset of the No. 2 Bears. The game marked the first time that a No. 7 team won a game during A-Sun tournament play.
The season stands as the inaugural postseason experience for the Ospreys since reclassifying to Div. I. Brittany Kirkland led a UNF army through the unchartered waters at the University Center on Wednesday. The Ospreys controlled the pace early in the game, holding the Bears scoreless for more than 6:30, in addition to 6-for-26 shooting and just 16 points before the half.
Kirkland, a Second-Team All-Conference performer, led all players with a game-high 25 points, including hitting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. The sophomore teamed with junior post Juliemay Syquio to hold Mercer's pair of All-Conference performers in check. Senior guards Courtney Ford and LaToya Jackson struggled throughout the night, connecting on only 8-of-31 from the floor in combining for 23 points.
The Monroe, Ga. native put UNF’s first points on the board with a layup and helped open a 10-0 run against Mercer. Kirkland also stymied all hopes for a Mercer comeback in the final two minutes of the second half, as she started a 7-0 run to seal the win for UNF.
As UNF’s leading scorer, Kirkland has the responsibility of pacing the team, but she knows she has a lot of support from her team, friends and family.
“One of the things I was pushing on is that it’s a basketball game in a sense. I felt like it’s good for a No. 7 team to win and go on. But we want to go to the championships. I feel like when you think it’s more than what it is you get nervous or you tend to do stuff that’s outside of the box. I felt like it was another game. It was another game where I had to do my job. I had to keep my head on straight. I had to keep my teammates in the game, and we came out on top!”
Even in just her sophomore season of collegiate play, Kirkland has already made a strong impact on the court for the Ospreys.
“Coach says I have a lot of impact,” Kirkland said. “When my attitude is not at the level it needs to be, we tend not to do well. When my attitude is going well, I think that the team plays really well, so when we lose, I think it’s my fault. Coach always said when you step on the floor you should give your teammates your best effort. I knew I had to do that in order for us to go on.”
This strong work ethic propelled the sophomore guard to pick up All-Conference honors after starting in all of UNF’s 27 games. Kirkland leads the Ospreys and ranks fifth in the A-Sun in scoring with 14.6 points per game. In league games, the Monroe, Ga. native has tallied an average of 14.4 points per game, scoring in double digits on 22 occasions this season, including tallying 20 or more points on eight occasions.
The Ospreys have also exceeded preseason expectations during the season, beating league-favorite FGCU on Feb. 13. The squad strives for a strong defense in order to drive them to big wins.
“Defense is what we are,” Kirkland said. “I don’t think anybody in the conference plays defense as well as we do. That works to our advantage really, really well. You’re shot is not always going to fall but if you can play defense you’ll be good.”
Next, UNF will face the winner of No. 3 Campbell/No. 6 Jacksonville on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to all Championship games are available at MercerBears.com.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Relocated Rumble Still Favors JU
Whether it is in Veterans Memorial Arena, Swisher Gymnasium, or UNF Arena, Jacksonville holds the upper hand in the River City Rumble versus intra-city rival North Florida. A change of location and relevance did not matter either as the Dolphins defeated the Ospreys in the quarterfinals of the General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Championship at the University Center in Macon, Ga.
JU now owns an 11-1 advantage in the all-time series, but they know that the win over UNF was a huge first step in achieving their 2010 goals.
UNF has made huge strides in its first season as a full member of Division I. The Ospreys won 13 games which is the most since they joined the A-Sun and fell just two wins shy of matching the school record for wins. So, first-year head coach Matthew Driscoll seems to have them headed in the right direction.
However, none of that mattered on Wednesday. The Dolphins used a smothering defensive effort to limit a team that is built to win on defense themselves. UNF worked itself back into the game once in the first half and late in the game, but JU’s experience showed as the team hit 13-of-16 free throws in the final two minutes.
Head Coach Cliff Warren has led JU to back-to-back tournament finals, but is still looking for that break-through win to vault the program back to the NCAA Tournament. Maybe a win over their next door neighbor will be the catalyst that starts the charge.
JU now owns an 11-1 advantage in the all-time series, but they know that the win over UNF was a huge first step in achieving their 2010 goals.
UNF has made huge strides in its first season as a full member of Division I. The Ospreys won 13 games which is the most since they joined the A-Sun and fell just two wins shy of matching the school record for wins. So, first-year head coach Matthew Driscoll seems to have them headed in the right direction.
However, none of that mattered on Wednesday. The Dolphins used a smothering defensive effort to limit a team that is built to win on defense themselves. UNF worked itself back into the game once in the first half and late in the game, but JU’s experience showed as the team hit 13-of-16 free throws in the final two minutes.
Head Coach Cliff Warren has led JU to back-to-back tournament finals, but is still looking for that break-through win to vault the program back to the NCAA Tournament. Maybe a win over their next door neighbor will be the catalyst that starts the charge.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
ETSU Battles on in Honor of Injured Teammate
MACON, Ga. - Over the past few season ETSU women’s basketball has been about winning, Championships and Latisha Belcher, Siarre Evans, and TaRonda Wiles
The three have been a huge part to the success over the past three years in Johnson City with their solid scoring talents. Evans ranks fifth all-time in points, while Wiles became the 17th player in Lady Buccaneer history to score over 1,000 points in her career. She joined the group following her 26-point performance at Arkansas Nov. 22.
But following that game, Wiles and every Lady Buc would find in hard to celebrate. After spending the last seven and a half months rehabbing from extensive knee surgery (left knee), senior post Latisha Belcher made her season debut at Arkansas but the return was short lived. Belcher, 2008-09 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, went down with a season-ending ACL injury in her right knee early in the second half against the Razorbacks.
The injury stopped Belcher from helping ETSU on the court against Stetson in it first round win at the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Women’s Basketball Championship but her teammate still had her leadership and her voice on the bench. The Martinsville, Va. native marched out of the ETSU locker room, knee brace and all to support her teammate. Belcher, one of only three ETSU players to collect 200 or more steals, had not forgotten the team motto.
She wore it plain on her ETSU women’s basketball T-Shirt “One Team, One Goal”. Belcher talked in team huddles cheered during and once or twice even look like she wanted to jump and cheer. Until her knee stopped but even an ACL injury could not keep Belcher from getting up at each timeout to high-five each of her fellow Lady Bucs as they came off the floor.
Belcher is scheduled to receive her degree this May and still has a red-shirt season available however, it is unclear if she will use the option. One thing that remain clear, Belcher will not forget one team one goal.
The three have been a huge part to the success over the past three years in Johnson City with their solid scoring talents. Evans ranks fifth all-time in points, while Wiles became the 17th player in Lady Buccaneer history to score over 1,000 points in her career. She joined the group following her 26-point performance at Arkansas Nov. 22.
But following that game, Wiles and every Lady Buc would find in hard to celebrate. After spending the last seven and a half months rehabbing from extensive knee surgery (left knee), senior post Latisha Belcher made her season debut at Arkansas but the return was short lived. Belcher, 2008-09 Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, went down with a season-ending ACL injury in her right knee early in the second half against the Razorbacks.
The injury stopped Belcher from helping ETSU on the court against Stetson in it first round win at the 2010 General Shale Brick Atlantic Sun Women’s Basketball Championship but her teammate still had her leadership and her voice on the bench. The Martinsville, Va. native marched out of the ETSU locker room, knee brace and all to support her teammate. Belcher, one of only three ETSU players to collect 200 or more steals, had not forgotten the team motto.
She wore it plain on her ETSU women’s basketball T-Shirt “One Team, One Goal”. Belcher talked in team huddles cheered during and once or twice even look like she wanted to jump and cheer. Until her knee stopped but even an ACL injury could not keep Belcher from getting up at each timeout to high-five each of her fellow Lady Bucs as they came off the floor.
Belcher is scheduled to receive her degree this May and still has a red-shirt season available however, it is unclear if she will use the option. One thing that remain clear, Belcher will not forget one team one goal.
Owls Provide Early Energy to Championships
A men's championship promising to deliver excitement wasted little time as Kennesaw State, playing in its first postseason game ever as a Division I school, upset the top seeded Lipscomb Bisons, 72-69.
The men's championship had turned predictable recently as the top two seeds had faced off in each of the last six title games. A one seed had not dropped its first game since 2000 and no second seed has been bitten by the upset bug of the seventh seed since 2003. Now with the Owls' defeat of the Bisons, the draw that already features four co-champions truly opened up to the field.
Do not confuse this win with one of the all-timers. In December, the Owls hit on 19 3-point fields in scoring a 97-91 win at home against the Bisons. While they did not need 19 3-pointers, the shot played a key role in the victory as Kurtis Woods and Kelvin McConnell combined to hit 9-of-11 on their 3-point tries. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.
The outside game served as the perfect answer to the question, how does one offset the production of Lipscomb's Adnan Hodzic and Josh Slater? The only squad to boast a pair of First-Team All-Atlantic Sun performers and the Player of the Year in Hodzic did not disappoint as Hodzic controlled every inch of the paint, scoring 29 points and grabbing 16 rebounds - both schools records for a Championship single game and Slater deftly weaved through the Owl defense for 15 points - until a costly turnover inside the final 10 seconds denied Lipscomb a shot when trailing by a point.
The only disappointment appeared in facial expressions of the pair of juniors when they sat down in the postgame interview - both clearly unable to grasp the realization that their stay in Macon would be just one night.
Not surprisingly, the attitude of the victorious Owls' press conference stood in direct contrast to that of the Bisons. They entered the season, their first as a full-fledged Division I member, predicted not to even make the field of eight - as they were picked 11th in the preseason polls. However, an infusion of talent - Markeith Cummings, LaDaris Green and Matt Heramb chief among them - helped the Owls double their win total from last season, six, with the 12th they earned on Wednesday afternoon.
If knocking out No. 1 wasn't enough for Kennesaw State, up next awaits either the reigning champs, ETSU, or another one of this year's co-champs, Campbell. Either way, the odyssey continues Friday at 2:30.
The men's championship had turned predictable recently as the top two seeds had faced off in each of the last six title games. A one seed had not dropped its first game since 2000 and no second seed has been bitten by the upset bug of the seventh seed since 2003. Now with the Owls' defeat of the Bisons, the draw that already features four co-champions truly opened up to the field.
Do not confuse this win with one of the all-timers. In December, the Owls hit on 19 3-point fields in scoring a 97-91 win at home against the Bisons. While they did not need 19 3-pointers, the shot played a key role in the victory as Kurtis Woods and Kelvin McConnell combined to hit 9-of-11 on their 3-point tries. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 2-for-16 from beyond the arc.
The outside game served as the perfect answer to the question, how does one offset the production of Lipscomb's Adnan Hodzic and Josh Slater? The only squad to boast a pair of First-Team All-Atlantic Sun performers and the Player of the Year in Hodzic did not disappoint as Hodzic controlled every inch of the paint, scoring 29 points and grabbing 16 rebounds - both schools records for a Championship single game and Slater deftly weaved through the Owl defense for 15 points - until a costly turnover inside the final 10 seconds denied Lipscomb a shot when trailing by a point.
The only disappointment appeared in facial expressions of the pair of juniors when they sat down in the postgame interview - both clearly unable to grasp the realization that their stay in Macon would be just one night.
Not surprisingly, the attitude of the victorious Owls' press conference stood in direct contrast to that of the Bisons. They entered the season, their first as a full-fledged Division I member, predicted not to even make the field of eight - as they were picked 11th in the preseason polls. However, an infusion of talent - Markeith Cummings, LaDaris Green and Matt Heramb chief among them - helped the Owls double their win total from last season, six, with the 12th they earned on Wednesday afternoon.
If knocking out No. 1 wasn't enough for Kennesaw State, up next awaits either the reigning champs, ETSU, or another one of this year's co-champs, Campbell. Either way, the odyssey continues Friday at 2:30.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Sponsor Spotlight: General Shale Brick
On Wednesday, the Atlantic Sun's signature event, the Men's and Women's Basketball Championships, will tip off from Mercer's University Center. For the fifth consecutive year, General Shale Brick has lent its name as the event's title sponsor. For some insight as to the relationship forged between the Johnson City, Tennessee-based company and the Atlantic Sun, Bob Propes, Director of Marketing for General Shale Brick recently spoke of the partnership.Q: Why was it important for General Shale Brick to partner with the Atlantic Sun in sponsoring its premiere event?
A: There were a couple of reasons. First was it's a good fit marketing wise. The geography of the Atlantic Sun covers a lot of important markets for us, so it gave us an opportunity to get our name out in front of a lot of customers and potential customers. On the other hand, it gave us a a way to give back to a lot of excellent schools in those markets in one broad brush stroke.
Q: Have you seen the desired effects in those markets over the five years?
A: Yes - people see us, especially on the television broadcasts and remember us and it has given us a way to get out name out there in a repeating way, just over and over again. It's been pretty strong for us.
Q: Since the tournament moved from Johnson City, first to Nashville and now the Macon, talk about the the desire to remain affiliated with the A-Sun Basketball Championship.
A: Nashville has been a very strong market for us - we had a number of customers who came to us and wanted tickets for the tournament and we we glad to oblige them. I think the same will be true in Georgia. Even though we're headquartered in Johnson City, Tenn., these markets are very important to us. The Atlantic Sun got excellent schools and high academics, so from a corporate perspective, it's easy for us to support that kind of organization. In one broad stroke, we can support a lot of really excellent schools by supporting the conference and the tournament.
Q: How has the relationship between the Atlantic Sun and General Shale Brick grown over these five years?
A: We got off to a great start with the first championship, at ETSU, when we began our involvement and from that point, this situation has really been a good one. We've made a long-term commitment and its been an excellent working relationship with the conference and with the schools. The schools have been very gracious as hosts of the tournament. They provide good venues for the spectators. It's just been a good matchup for us.
Q: What led you to choosing a basketball tournament as your initial venture into college athletics?
A: In this part of the country and throughout the Atlantic Sun geography, basketball is a super popular sport. You don't have to be a huge university to have good, competitive basketball. I think the A-Sun's tournament winners have really represented the conference well at the NCAA Tournament and it really speaks highly of the conference.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Running for Mom, for Country
For some athletes, having their parents in the stands watching them compete can lead to extra pressure and thus, less than desired results. In some instances, however, the given athlete can perform to heighten successes.
At the 2010 Atlantic Sun Indoor Track & Field Championships, ETSU’s Duronal Monal, gave his mom, Jyolette, a memory to take back with her to
Not since his high school days at
“It’s been very tough for me to practice and continue to go to meets knowing she was in
For 10 days, Monal tried without success to reach his mother. She suffered multiple injuries resulting from the quake. It would be another three days before she left
“She was injured very badly, but someway, somehow through God’s grace, she made it back here,” Monal said. “She had some scratches and bruises and a wound behind her head which was bleeding very badly. They had to get her to the emergency room, but they couldn’t get her there in time. She was probably suffering infection from the wound. As soon as she got to the
At his final Indoor Championships, Monal entered in a pair of individual events, the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash. In both events he established Championship records, and did so with NCAA provisional qualifying times.
“She’s always busy in
Through Duronal, Jyolette said “Even if it was 3,000 miles, I said I would make sure I came to support my baby. That trip from Haiti was terrible, but I would find it in my power to make it here.”
At the podium to receive his medals, Monal displayed a miniature Haitian flag, given to him by his mom after the quake hit. He has carried the flag with him throughout the weekend and for the first time, as suggested by his mom, he raced with the flag tucked inside his tights.
“I’m coming out here and I’m running for my country, I’m running for them. This is my country and I love this country. I’m going to support them 100 percent and I’m going to keep holding this flag until the meet is complete,” Monal said.
The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same for JU
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – There were definitely some changes for the Jacksonville women’s track & field program this year.
The conference changed the format at the championship meet, upping the number of scoring athletes from six to eight. On paper, this change would seem to favor teams with more depth than JU typically features.
Perhaps even more important was the departure of the best track & field athlete in A-Sun history, Natasha Harvey.
“I made a joke getting on the bus and asked everyone where Natasha was” said head coach Ron Grigg. “We are [known for] winning championships with her as our leader, but we knew we have two very strong freshmen and knew the points would be replaced. The Conference gets better every single year and Kennesaw State (who finished runner up) gets better every single year. The performances are getting closer and closer which is great for the competitiveness of the conference.”
So, one thing did not change, the Dolphins again dominated the competition, cruising to their fifth consecutive conference indoor title. Facing a slim deficit after day one, Jacksonville won the first six track events of the second day to take control.
Joane Pierre, Alyssa Deal, Anastasia Fokina and Alison Ritter swept the top four spots in the mile run to turn a 5.5-point disadvantage into a 23.5-point advantage to set the tone for the rest of the team. The Dolphins capped the rally with Louise Kiernan leading another quartet of runners to the top-4 spots in the 200 Meter Dash.
“We feel like we are a strong team and we push each other every day,” reflected Pierre, the meet’s Most Outstanding Track Performer. “We knew we could count on each other. It was really neat the way we finished that race.”
All told, 17 of 22 student-athletes competing in the meet scored at least one point for Coach Grigg while his sensational freshmen duo of Charlene Charles and Pierre swept the post-meet awards.
“We went about this with the same process: Training hard throughout the year, Setting high goals and Trying to have our best meet this weekend,” commented Grigg.
No offense Natasha (and what an amazing run you had in the A-Sun), but with freshmen like Pierre and Charles leading the way, the Harvey era is officially one for the record books at Jacksonville.
“To enter into this winning tradition as a freshman is awesome for me. I love JU and the team works together so well. I’m just glad to be a part of the tradition,” closed Pierre.
The Dolphins look like staying power will not be a problem.
What individual do you think had the most impressive meet?
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