FEBRUARY 25, 2010 ISSUE
Both ASU Basketball Programs Playing Well
ASU guard Kellen Brand is among the top 30 scorers in the Southern Conference, as he averages 10.3 points per game. Photo by Dave Mayo/ASU athletics A long span of time has passed since both the ASU basketball programs have had successful seasons at the same time.
This year, though, it’s happening.
With stellar play down the stretch, each basketball team has the chance to finish in the top three in the Southern Conference. The last time both teams did that was the 1995-96 season.
At midweek, the men’s team was atop the North division of the conference and the women were fighting for the third spot.
“You don’t want one doing poorly and one doing well. It’s a win-win situation for us all,” said women’s coach Darcie Vincent.
Instead of people mentioning one program or the other, fans can talk about both teams winning.
“I think it’s great to have both teams doing well,” men’s coach Buzz Peterson said. “I always feel like Appalachian is a school where you have multiple very good programs.”
An added bonus around the Holmes Center is the happiness.
“We’re with each other every day, so it’s good that everyone is in a good mood,” Peterson said.
The women rattled off seven straight wins before a road loss to Chattanooga over the weekend.
This from a team that was picked to finished eighth in the league at the beginning of the season and has only two upperclassmen.
It’s helped that the freshmen forwards—Kelsey Sharkey, Courtney Freeman, Anna Freeman and Ashlen Dewart—have quickly adapted to the college game. Dewart leads the team in scoring and Anna Freeman is the leading rebounder.
Junior Sam Ramirez has also come on strong for the team.
“They didn’t expect Sam to be this type of player and didn’t expect our freshmen to be anything,” Vincent said. “There’s a lot of bragging that we can do at the end of it.”
After playing so well, the team is looking for a good seeding in the Southern Conference tournament, which begins on March 5 in Charlotte.
“We’re changing the view of Appalachian’s women’s basketball,” Dewart said.
“I’m very excited about what these freshmen and sophomores are doing,” Vincent said. “I knew we would look like a good team, but the fact is we are a good team right now and we could compete for the conference championship and that’s an amazing thing.”
The men are competing to hold onto their lead in the North division.
ASU is trying to hold off Western Carolina, which is the only other team in the division with a winning record.
“It was one of our goals coming into the season to lead our division and we’re in a great position to do that,” point guard Donald Sims said. “We have to keep it in our minds that we are one of the top teams and come out every night and play.”
In recent weeks the Mountaineers have picked up defensive intensity, not allowed turnovers to turn into too many quick points and become better rebounding.
“We’ve made strides and improvements in the past month and that’s what we’re trying to do—be one of the better teams come tournament time,” Peterson said.
The Southern Conference men’s and women’s tournament is scheduled for Thursday to Monday, March 4 through 8, in Charlotte.
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