Basketball faces conference play with optimism

Miranda Smith, Campus Carrier Sports Editor

not throwing away my shot — Senior Christine Cerezola looks towards the hoop for a lay-up with a Sewanee defender on her back. Photos by Andrea Hill | Campus Carrier

The men’s and women’s basketball team are both coming off of conference games from last weekend. The women’s team earned their first SAA win over the Centre Colonels 50-46 and the men’s team dominated Centre with a historic win of 77-68. They also won 69-64 against the Sewanee Tigers.

Senior Elijah Hirsh received his first career D3hoops.com Team of the Week and U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III Player of the Week honors. He also earned his second SAA Player of the Week.

He has helped with the team’s performance in pushing to the front of the standings in the SAA and hopes to remain there for the time being.

Hirsh said that the team doesn’t feel the pressure of staying on top because their main goal is improving with each practice and game.

“All we worry about is getting better each day,” Hirsh said. “Every conference game and conference road game in particular is a challenge. We enjoy getting to play together with this group on the road.”

Both the teams are preparing to travel to play at Hendrix College this weekend. In preparation, both teams are working on focus and what needs to be improved before this weekend.

also where is the picture from the front page — Senior Elijah Hirsch lays it up over a Sewanee defender. Hirsch earned his first U.S. Basketball Writers Association Division III Player of the Week title.

Senior Myles Moore said that hard work is worth the benefits. Moore sees more improvement each day through every practice and game and sees more potential from the team.

“This week we are focusing on staying hungry and not being satisfied,” Moore said. “We really want to build off of our two key wins from last week. Because we’re at the top of the conference now, we know that the other teams are coming after us in hopes of taking down the top team.”

Junior Eveline Parsons said the women’s team is focusing on improving and bringing more intensity to the team’s performance.

“We are bringing more energy to every defensive possession and trusting that the offense would take care of itself,” Parsons said. “We do our best to prepare to win, and focus on the effort that goes into preparation instead of worrying about what the result will be.”

why tf was it in the news section — Senior Elijah Hirsch (top) and the Berry men’s basketball team had a successful weekend with two wins. The Lady Vikings went 1-1, gaining a conference win.

Freshman Mary Walters and senior Alex Weems explained the change in the team from Saturday’s game against Sewanee: The University of the South to Sunday’s game against Centre.

They described the quick turn around and change in energy and momentum that aided the team to their historic win.

“We are preparing for Hendrix with the same mindset and intent as Centre,” Weems said. “We have already seen what we can accomplish; therefore the focus we have to have is just to be hungry for each win and to never back down or let up.”

Walters explained the boost in team chemistry and described the importance of these upcoming games.

“We’ve been having good practices, and I believe we’re beginning to mesh better as a team,” Walters said. “Now is the part of the season that really counts, so we’ve been adjusting to be more focused and do what we have to do on and off the court.”