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Wednesday, 01 February 2012 22:51 |
 Sophomore guard Michelle Taylor moves the ball toward the basket against a WCU defender. The team won the game 58-39. Paul Heckert | The Appalachian
“I am the coach of the team, but I am a fan of women’s basketball in general,” head coach Darcie Vincent said. “If I had turned on our game that we just played on television, I would have changed the channel.”
Coach Vincent’s remarks may seem unusual, since her squad dismantled the Catamounts and ran away with a 19-point victory, but junior Anna Freeman echoed her coach’s sentiments.
“It doesn’t matter who we play or what the score is, we need to always keep working on Appalachian,” Freeman said. “Tonight I didn’t feel like we did a very good job of doing that.”
Freeman led all scorers with 16 points, and perhaps more importantly led the Mountaineers in minutes played, with 36. Freeman’s minutes indicate that she is close to fully recovered from an ankle sprain she sustained the previous Monday against Samford.
“It’s good,” Freeman said. “It has recovered really quickly, thanks to my constant ice baths.”
The first half was a back-and-forth game. The Mountaineers were unable to distance themselves and led 29-25 at the completion of the first 20 minutes. Junior Kelsey Sharkey helped control the paint and corralled four first-half steals, which helped push the Apps in front.
The second 20 minutes were a completely different game. Western had trouble passing half-court on multiple possessions and the Catamounts were only able to produce 14 points.
“Our guards have been awesome the last couple of games,” freshman Maryah Sydnor said. “They have been in people’s grills and that has created steals for everybody else.”
Sydnor had her fourth double-digit game with 11 points, but her coach would like to see more physicality out of the freshman post player.
“Tonight’s game was pretty physical and Western was putting their hands all over us,” Vincent said. “Every time Maryah made a cut tonight, they chucked her and she doesn’t like that.”
Appalachian’s defense generated 29 Western turnovers and held the Catamounts to a paltry 18 percent shooting in the second half.
“The defense is one thing we did execute tonight,” Freeman said. “Our defensive pressure helps create our offense.”
All year, the Mountaineers have questioned who will play point guard. For the majority of the season, Coach Vincent has appointed a point guard by committee approach, but Michelle Taylor received extended action at the lead guard spot against Western Monday. The junior flourished in her new role.
“Michelle got our game ball tonight,” Vincent said. “She did a phenomenal job. She never practices playing point guard and she came out tonight and had no turnovers.”
Taylor finished with seven points, four assists and two steals. More importantly, the natural shooting guard did not turn the ball over in her 32 minutes and gave the Apps some stability in the backcourt.
Appalachian’s next opponent is SoCon nemesis Georgia Southern.
“If I’m not mistaken, we have only beat them two times since I’ve been here,” Coach Vincent said. “They’re a team that I think is ready to explode and we have to make sure that it’s not against us.”
The Mountaineers will face off against the Eagles Saturday at 5 p.m. in Statesboro, Ga.
Story: TYLER WOOD, Sports Reporter
Photo: PAUL HECKERT, Intern Photographer |
