2008 Woodie Awards
Women's basketball team not looking back
Lady Patriots bring tradition of winning back to Francis Marion
Kim Gailliard
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Sports
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With a 20-5 record at press time, the Lady Patriots are undergoing a transformation.
Senior guard Brittany Young said the team outlined several goals last August that they wanted to attain by season's end.
"Our goals (are) to win the regular season championship," Young said. "We want to win our conference championship and a national championship."
As her career winds down, Young has experienced the good and bad of teams past.
"We didn't win many games (last year), and your wins and losses define your development," she said. "We had times where we would have good runs, but as a whole, we knew we weren't satisfied with the way we were playing."
She said all of that has changed under first-year Coach Heather Macy.
"We're (20-5), so that says a lot right there," Young said. "Last time this year, we weren't even close to that, and the fact that we haven't been together for a whole year yet says we're a better team than we were last year."
She said Macy has helped to restore the passion that once flowed through the program and has been able to get players to "buy into the system from the beginning."
Ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll several times this season, the team has received strong support from the campus community, Florence and former players, Macy said.
"We've had four players from the 1986 national championship team come back and talk to the team," Macy said. "They've shared stories about what it was like to play for FMU and what experiences they had here."
One of the players was Kim Hawkins, who was the starting point guard on the team that won the 1986 championship.
Young said Hawkins talked to the team about the importance of team work and looking out for one another on and off the court.
"She said that was a big part of (her team's success during their national championship run), and I think that's going to help us continue to win games in the future," Young said.
Former four-time All-American and Hall-of-Famer Pearl Moore also has visited with the team. Moore is the all-time leading scorer in collegiate women's basketball with 4,069 points.
Young became the 24th Patriot to score 1,000 points Jan. 30 and subsequently was named Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Player of the Week.
She also has been placed on the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District 3 college division women's basketball team with a 3.44 grade point average.
Junior guard Kevina Ransom also was honored as Player of the Week this season for two performances in which she averaged 20 points, 8.5 assists, four rebounds and six steals.
Described by Macy as "fast, explosive and tenacious," Ransom leads the nation and conference in steals per game and is among the top scorers in the PBC.
Though the Patriots aren't undefeated, they have used each loss as motivation going into the next game, Ransom said.
"Coach Macy said we've got to learn from our mistakes and why we lost," Ransom said. "She said the game is over and now it's time to look ahead and never forget what team beat (us because) we will play them again."
With all of the wins, support and accolades, Young thinks the Patriots finally are experiencing the level of success they all hoped to achieve.
"I feel like this is something I wanted my whole life, and now it's finally happening," she said.
Ransom expressed similar feelings.
"It's good to bring back the tradition (of winning) to Francis Marion," she said.
Player Profiles
Kevina Ransom
Hometown: Roanoke Rapids, N.C.
Height: 5-5
Position: Point guard
Points per game: 10.5 (19th in PBC, 463rd in NCAA Division II)
Steals per game: 4.6 (leads team, first in PBC, first in NCAA Division II)
Assists per game: 5.5 (leads team, second in PBC, 27th in NCAA Division II)
Minutes per game: 21.7
Brittany Young
Hometown: Monks Corner
Height: 5-6
Position: Point guard
Points per game: 13.7 (leads team, 12th in PBC, 201st NCAA Division II)
Steals per game: 2.5 (fifth in PBC, 62nd in NCAA Division II)
Assists per game: 3.2 (seventh in PBC, 178th in NCAA Division II)
Minutes per game: 24.8
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