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sports
Trio of seniors
key to success
By Danielle
Grossman
On-line Forty-Niner
The Long Beach
State women's basketball team will need the help of seniors
Ekuah Ramsey, Crystal Givens, and Tamara Inoue to help pull
together a team that includes seven newcomers, but the starters
are up for the challenge.
Ramsey, named Big
West Conference Defensive Player of the Year for 2001, expects
to do as well this season as she did last year.
"I'm coming
back from a strong year," said Ramsey, a starting forward.
"I was getting better throughout the year. I think I
did a lot of good things and I just want to build on that."
The Sacramento
native believes this year's team needs rebuilding with so
many new faces, but expects them to do well nevertheless.
"Every day
you see an improvement [with the team]," Ramsey said.
"I was nervous at first, but they're coming along really
well. Every day you can see the new people trying to learn
and do their best and it's really inspiring."
Givens, a Long
Beach native, and Inoue, from Laguna Hills, agreed that the
team will do well this season and once again becoming contenders
for the Big West tournament title. Inoue believes the team
is developing its own unique chemistry.
"The most
important thing is to learn the young players," said
Inoue, the starting point guard. "The players are eager
to learn and are coachable. Our chemistry is coming together."
While everyone
agreed that the team's weakness is its inexperience, the three
seniors said the team is extremely quick, stronger and more
balanced this year.
"I think that
everyone is very athletic and lots of people are able to pick
up the ball," Inoue said. "Every guard can handle
the ball and bring it up, we don't have to pass it to only
one person like last year."
The players are
ready to look at their own strengths and weaknesses. Though
Ramsey is a strong defensive player, she has trouble with
shooting, but said that she'd been working on improving her
shot during the summer.
Givens said that
she needs to work more on her outside shooting, but proudly
admitted that she is a leader for the team.
"I am a leader
always," said Givens, the other starting forward. "My
strength is to pick [the team] up. I love to rebound [and]
consider myself a scorer."
Inoue recorded a career-high 13 assists against Northwestern
last year, so it's no wonder she said passing is her strength,
but also said she needs to focus on not getting frustrated
and down on herself.
Though the 49er
starters are strong players, everyone is wondering how big
of a loss former Big West Player of the Year Jackie Moore
will be.
"Jackie is
a big loss because she's a great player," Givens said.
"But [projected starter] Jayme Connors is strong and
has nice moves. As a whole, we're more balanced."
Connors, a freshman
from Las Vegas, is expected to start at center this season.
"Jayme can't
be a freshman and has to step up this year and play,"
Inoue said. "She's smart [and] a great passer and shooter."
Media and coaches
picked Long Beach State to finish in third place behind UC
Santa Barbara and Pacific this year, mostly because of the
loss of Moore, Reta Sula and Charel Bailey. All the players
and coaches are frustrated that this is the third year in
a row that they've been picked to finish third, believing
that the team is not getting the respect it deserves.
"It makes
me laugh," Ramsey said. "We only lost three people,
we have people to fill those other spots, easily. We beat
Pacific three times last year. What more do we need?"
LBSU finished second
in the Big West each of the past two seasons.
The seniors believe
that the team is prepared to win against Syracuse on Saturday
in the 49ers' regular-season opener. Inoue said the players
just need to stay calm.
Beyond being a
great basketball player, the team members have to love the
sport, but there are challenges that each member faces besides
the demands of academics and the sport.
"My niece
and nephew are my heart and being away from them is the biggest
challenge," Ramsey said. "I miss them and try to
call them a lot. Sometimes it's hard being here all by myself."
Said Inoue: "The
biggest challenge is making sure everyone understands the
concept and philosophy of the team. Everyone gets along so
well. This is the first time everyone's gotten along so well
together."
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