Senior Bailey St. Clair takes the ball up over her Alabama Huntsville opponent on Dec 17.St. Clair started every game during her four years and averaged 13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Ashe/ Parsons On jan.l5, coa:h 11m Kirby encouoges the team during the lost few moments of the game against Delta State. Kirby hod been the women's coach since 2005. Ashe/ Parsons Driving into the lane for two points on Dec 7, junior Sierra Rollins contributes 13 points to the 80-56 win against Alabama Huntsville. Rollins wasnamed 1st-team all conference for the 2011 season. Ashe/ Parsons Born When it c a m e tocollegesports, many athletes knew they would require hours on end of practices, games and traveling, not to mention talent and discipline. For the new Lady Bisons point guard, freshman Michaela Brown, all of these things were well-known qualities and came naturally in the game of basketball. "I felt like I was born in a gym," Brown said. Brown began playing basketball in the first grade and had never stopped since then. She described herself as "the kid whose dad was always the coach." Brown had always played the position of point guard well, having started forfour years on a high school team that played in three straight state championship games. When she began looking at Harding as a potential college choice, Coach Tim Kirby saw her talents on the court and realized her strengths, recruiting her for the Lady Bisons. "She is extremely quick, very intelligent and a great young lady," Kirby said. "Michaela fits our program and university perfectly." Kirby said that during the fall of 2010, Harding wanted to sign on two new point guards and needed someone that could join immediately. He believed Brown had the "basketbaiiiQ" and the athletic ability to do that as a freshman. Brown admitted that she had considered coming to Harding earlier, but having the opportunity to play basketball made the decision much easier. Aside from basketball, she felt Harding still had much to offer her, and her favorite aspect was the people. According to Brown, Harding had "a great campus life," and she made friends easily. Of course, she grew especially close to her teammates and loved traveling with the team. Looking at Brown as a player, Kirby said her strengths were 300 athletics quickness and mentality, but he recognized that she "always does the right thing" as well. He described her as "a very hard worker, respected and loved by her teammates." Sophomore guard Katie Dunn said Brown never let the competition get the best of her. "Michaela is unusual in the fact that she is a freshman po1nt guard who really steps up for us," Dunn said. "She is always calm and never responds in the wrong way to her team, her coaches or the officials. She works as hard as anybody on our team, and that is huge to have a freshman putting in that effort." When she was not on the court, Brown could have been found studying or simply hanging out with her teammates for fun. However, Brown knew how to balance having fun with the pressures of school and basketball, which could be demanding and time-consuming. She was an important-~ontributor to the Lady Bisons, and Kirby agreed. "We have a team :that gets along extremely well and works hard," Kirby said. "\ Kirby had high goals for Brown and the rest of the team during the 2010-2011 season, ana fi§ described the Gulf South Conference as a beneficial challenge tfli'at made for a competitive season, demanding on the players while improving their skills. Kirby felt confident in his players, having signed four freshmen for the 2010 -2011 season. He expected each of them, including Brown, to get significant playing time. Brown found her college experience to be great and continued loving the game of basketball while simultaneously representing her school. She stayed dedicated to her passion and focused on her goal. "I learned that taking a break is never [an] option," Brown said. Gabrielle Pruitt
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