Carver A&T girls hoops team off to strong start
Carver A&T does not have a reputation for being a strong girls basketball school, but the Wildcats could be on the verge of changing that with their best start in school history.
The Wildcats are 14-0 and if this keeps up, they could find themselves in the Baltimore County championship.
Second-year coach Valerie Handy doesn't want to think about that just yet. The Wildcats lead the county's Class 2A-1A division, but they have three weeks yet to play. Another tough game comes up Wednesday night when they meet Dundalk, also a strong contender in the division.
"I try not to go into that with them," Handy said, "because I want them to do it one game at a time. I don't want them to get too excited."
Twin seniors Lauren and Jennifer Elkin lead the Wildcats, with Lauren scoring 14.5 points per game and Jennifer, 7.8. Kimberleigh Rivers adds 6.9 points and 2.3 steals. Essence Fredrick and Janae Eadley round out the starting lineup.
It has taken Handy a while to get the players to believe that they are as good as they are.
"At first when I got here it was like, 'We're satisfied if we win three games or four,'" Handy said. "Carver is not known for girls basketball. I think the girls didn't know how to act, because this has never happened before."
Handy said after the 10th or 12th win, she talked to them in the locker room about taking on the attitude of a winner. As a player back home in Tennessee and at Lambert University, Handy had a never-quit attitude which she has brought to the Wildcats
"I asked them, 'Do you realize you're having a winning season? Then they beat a few teams like Pikesville, Owings Mills and Hereford that they had never beaten before. They're gaining more confidence every day."
Comments
Great story but if they happen to play Digital Harbor in the playoffs, they'll lose by 50.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 26, 2010 10:07 PM
Classy post anonymous. Find something better to do with your time. Great job girls.
Posted by: Carver Fan | January 27, 2010 4:18 PM
Carver is going all the way!!! You wait and see, anonymous!!!
Posted by: Carver Rocks!! | January 31, 2010 7:34 PM
First, Carver won't see Digital Harbor. Carver A&T competes in the 1A North Division in the state tournament, and I like their chances to cut down some nets. I think everyone needs to realize what an incredible achievement it is for any Carver A&T team that is successful on the athletic field. These students are selected to attend Carver for the artistic skills visual arts, theater, dance, writing, and graphic design, etc. in addition to needing good grades before they even set foot on the basketball court. At Carver, academics as well as the arts come before sports. These girls were not picked to come to Carver for basketball, so the fact that this is such a special team is a credit to these young ladies character and coaching.
Posted by: Josh | February 2, 2010 12:39 PM
Can you believe only four or five years ago this team was getting blown out by other teams and had no wins all season?? Now, they are on top and plan to keep it that way!! That's an amazing turn around.
Posted by: ccat | February 6, 2010 7:33 PM