Young shoots to break record
Brooks faces former assistant today as Tamera Young eyes JMU all-time scoring record
Posted on January 24, 2008
They keep in touch over the holidays, but James Madison women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks and his former assistant Krista Kilburn-Steveskey are on different sides now.
Kilburn-Steveskey now coaches Hofstra, which lost four starters to graduation in 2007, like JMU. But Kilburn-Steveskey knows that the one JMU holdover from last season, senior forward Tamera Young, provides “breathing room” for a team that she feels will come together in the absence of freshman point guard Dawn Evans.
“We had one meeting last year, and it was awkward,” Brooks said. “It was awkward just because she had been a part of this program alongside me my first few years as a head coach.”
When Brooks was appointed as interim coach in December 2002, Kilburn-Steveskey was his assistant and his “lead coach” for the next three seasons until her departure after the 2005-06 campaign. Brooks said that the “luster” of facing a former assistant has gone down because they faced each other for the first time last season.
Madison (10-6 overall, 3-2 Colonial Athletic Association) is out to redeem itself after an overtime loss to Virginia Commonwealth (14-2, 4-1) on Sunday. Young will likely make history tonight; she needs six points to break the JMU scoring record of 1,760 set last year by Meredith Alexis.
The Dukes will rely on two natural shooting guards and a small forward to share ball-handling duties. Senior Jasmine Lawrence played the position for most of Sunday’s game, but freshman Courtney Hamner and Young also brought the ball up the floor at times. Brooks saw bright spots, despite turnovers that ultimately cost JMU the game.
“When they were effective was when they made one good move, beat the point guard and got to a spot and ran the offense,” he said. “When we weren’t effective is when we were a little hesitant and we were crossing back over and making counter moves. That allows for them to keep pressure on you and take you out of sync.”
Hofstra (3-13, 1-4) is coming off a 64-53 loss to Georgia State (4-12, 1-4), as the Pride squandered a 41-36 lead with seven minutes left in the game. Kilburn-Steveskey attributed much of the Pride’s struggles to inexperience, but expressed optimism that things can be turned around.
“We’ve got to handle the momentum shift,” Kilburn-Steveskey said. “There was pressure here and there, but at the end of the day in the last four minutes of the ball game we had a chance to take hold.”
Hofstra finished fourth in the CAA for the 2006-07 season with a conference record of 13-5, while JMU was 16-2 for second in the conference. JMU has handled its losses better with the help of Young, the preseason CAA player of the year.
“I remember when we were recruiting her and one of the things we said about Tamera was ‘you’re different than everybody else,’” Kilburn-Steveskey said. “That’s why Kenny’s team’s been doing so well. He didn’t rest and he kept recruiting great kids to the program and gave himself some breathing room.”
Alexis’ scoring record, on the other hand, doesn’t have much breathing room. Young holds the school record for consecutive games scoring in double figures with 31 straight, and if she extends that record, she’ll easily take ownership of the scoring mark.
