|
|
She'Cara Humphrey made a key decision four years ago
and the UT-Tyler women's basketball program has benefitted
greatly. |
By Brian Lester
D3sports.com
She’Cara Humphrey nearly made a decision four years ago that would have changed her fate and perhaps even the fate of Texas-Tyler.
Humphrey was considering playing volleyball once she got to college, and if she had gone that route, she wouldn’t be talking about a trip to the Division III NCAA Tournament this week.
The Patriots, champions of the American Southwest Conference tournament, are headed to the dance for the first time in program history, and Humphrey, a senior post player who has scored more than 1,000 points in her career, has been instrumental in making the dream of a tourney trip come true.
“Volleyball was my favorite sport in high school, and I considered playing it in college,” Humphrey said. “I've never really thought of myself as a great basketball player, but everything we have done this season has made the decision all worth it.”
Humphrey has scored 1,076 points in her career and is averaging 14.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season. She only scored nine points in the 68-56 win over Mary Hardin-Baylor in the ASC tournament championship game, but she still earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
As a freshman, she was named the ASC East Division Freshman of the Year, averaging 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. A year later, Humphrey raised her scoring average to 9.3 and pushed her rebounding average to 5.9 en route to being an honorable mention All-ASC selection.
Humphrey earned second-team honors in the league last season as she started all 27 games and ranked 19th in the league in scoring at 10.6 points per game. She averaged 5.4 rebounds per game as well.
Not bad for a player who didn’t think she was cut out to be a star at the college level.
“Once I got my first chance to play, I knew I had made the right decision,” Humphrey said. “I’ve had a great four years and I owe a lot of credit to my teammates for my success.”
Tyler head coach Kevin Baker will tell you he is glad Humphrey is on his side.
“She is a special kid and player,” Baker said. “She’s been a solid player all year and her teammates feed off her energy. I’m real proud of what she has accomplished.”
Humphrey and the Patriots (25-3) will look to accomplish more this weekend when they open the NCAA tournament against Maryville on Friday night in Memphis. The Scots (22-6) were the runner-up of the USA South Athletic Conference tournament and are making their 20th appearance in the NCAA tournament.
Baker, who is 43-12 in his two years at Tyler, said the fact that his team has never been to the tourney before isn’t as big of a deal as some might make it out to be.
“It can be a good thing that we don’t have experience in the tournament because our players can go in relaxed and not worry about nerves,” Baker said. “They can go out and play their game. We’re trying go about things as business as usual and keep things as normal as possible. It’s exciting to be in it and we know anything can happen.”
This journey to the NCAA Tournament began last season when the Patriots gave top-seeded Louisiana College all it could handle in a thrilling ASC semifinal showdown.
The Patriots, who set a school record for wins (18), lost the game, 82-79 in overtime, but even in a moment of defeat, the wheels were set in motion for the historic ride the Patriots would go on this season.
“We knew then how good we could be this year after the way things ended in the tournament, and we constantly reminded the team of it,” Baker said. “We wanted the players to remember what it felt like to lose that game and use it as motivation. Our team turned the corner that day.”
Humphrey said the Patriots did indeed use the gut-wrenching end of a year ago as fuel for the fire this season.
“We had a great season last year, and we felt like we could have gone to the (NCAA) tournament. We played with a chip on our shoulder this year,” Humphrey said. “We went into this season focused on playing hard and having no regrets. We wanted to finish strong.”
The mission was accomplished as the Patriots, who defeated LeTourneau (84-69) in the opening round of the ASC tourney before knocking off Louisiana College (74-65) in the semifinal round. Tyler has won its last 12 games.
While Humphrey has been a huge part of the Patriots’ success, others have risen to the occasion as well.
Brittany King, the MVP of the ASC tourney after scoring 21 points and grabbing six rebounds in the championship game, leads the team in scoring at 17 points per game.
Junior guard Teylor Seals is averaging 9.0 points per outing while senior guard Taylor Murphy is clicking for 7.2 points per outing. Freshman forward Madison Wilson, who earned a spot on the all-tourney team, is averaging 7.0 points per game and senior guard Danai Woods is scoring 6.6 points per outing.
The Patriots are averaging 76.8 points per game and giving up 61.2.
Baker said one of the biggest keys to his team’s success is its willingness to play hard on the defensive end of the floor.
“We have made a big commitment to defense,” Baker said. “When you watch players defend, you find out how dedicated they are to being successful, and our players have bought into being a good defensive team. They are always working hard.”
The Patriots are hoping their hard work pays off again this weekend. Humphrey intends to enjoy the moment, a moment that would have never materialized had she opted to play volleyball instead of basketball.
“It means the world to me to be here,” Humphrey said. “It’s a great feeling to still be playing and we are going into the tournament with a lot of confidence. Things have worked out great, and we know if we play our best, we’ll have a chance to keep playing.”