Featured: Jessica Bivins

GSW Senior guard Jessica Bivins

Jessica Bivins is a senior guard on the Georgia Southwestern State University women’s basketball team that just completed there most successful season to date. The Hurricanes advanced to the PBC tournament and after a quarterfinal loss to eventual NCAA Southeast Regional champs Lander, finished with a record of 18-9, 10-7 in the conference. Jessica averaged 11.6 points a game this year along with 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game. She also has been highly successful off the court, being selected to the PBC All-Academic Team twice and the Presidential Honor Roll twice, as well as being chosen to receive an NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women’s Enhancement Scholarship (one of only 26 recipients across the entire country and from all three NCAA divisions). Let’s get to know Jessica a bit better:

Why did you choose GSW?

Because when I came on my visit the team and coach were really welcoming. They laid everything on the table and I liked that the coach was straightforward with me. She said I could come and contribute and do big things. I also liked the campus because its not too big or too small.

What have you enjoyed most about your time as a Hurricane?

I enjoyed my teammates. We are really there for each other, on the court and academically. We push each other to be better. I also enjoyed how we have grown as a program. My senior year we really put the pedal to the metal. I just enjoy how we’ve grown and wish I could come back for one more year. The teammates are the best part.

Talk about this season, your senior year, and the best season ever for GSW women’s basketball.

Being my senior year I definitely came to practice each day knowing this was it. I came ready, encouraged my teammates and let them know what we could do. As a senior I tried to prepare our newcomers and set an example for them. I think the seniors, we did our job for the most part and even though in the end we couldn’t bring it back it was a good year. Hopefully I can end on a positive note academically as well and leave GSW with a positive legacy.

You’ve had your share of success off the court, being named to the PBC All-Academic team, the Presidential Honor Roll, etc. How do you balance everything?

Everybody teases me because I have a thousand to-do lists. I’m really organized and keep a daily planner, and I set goals for each day. For example if I want to egt some extra shots up at the gym I will make sure I get my school work done early so I can stay as late as I need to at the gym.I know in my mind that things just have to get done and it is not a possibility to just not do something. I’m not going to let myself do that.

You were also recently selected to receive an NCAA Ethnic Minority and Women Enhancement scholarship. What does this honor mean to you?

It means a lot. All the hard work, the studying the basketball practices have actually paid off. It’s the first scholarship for academics I have ever gotten, so it’s a big deal. I am really psyched about going to graduate school. It is what I want to do and this scholarship alleviates some of the financial pressure.

Who are your biggest influences?

Definitely my family. My mother. I’m the oldest so I kind of pave the way and want to set an example for my brother and my cousin. They are student-athletes as well and I want them to know it can be done because JB did it. My mom is big because I’ll call her all the time and she trusts and believes I have the inner power to make it through. I get that from her. She instills the confidence in me.

Also my academic advisor, Dr. Bosak. He’s definitely another big one. I can count on him for anything. He has been a big supporter of me, whether it’s with papers, scholarship applications, on weekends, anytime I can count on him. And my coaches, Coach Britsky and Coach Turman my on the court influences. They are key contributors to my success. Coach is always getting us to work hard and get buckets.

What are your future plans?

Physical therapy graduate programs are very competitive and the one I am looking at is Florida A&M’s. I am applying in May and it is a three year program. I want to work in sports and become a sports physical therapist. Hopefully I can work at a school or with a professional team, but if not I will work with the general population. Ultimately once I am established as a professional I’d like to own and run my own sports rehabilitation clinic.

Reality Sets In

The Lander Bearcats advanced to their first ever NCAA Elite Eight after downing Wingate in the Southeast Region Final. Unfortunately their season ended with a defeat to Rollins College. Senior Rachelle Rasley graciously volunteered to blog about the experience.

Rachelle Rasley

Rollins was a great team but we truly felt we were the better team. We had prepared as best we could but the ball just didn’t seem to bounce our way Tuesday night. Coach Pederson told us that it was disappointing that we couldn’t show everyone who doubted us what Lander was truly about. We played our hearts out but we all agreed we didn’t show the nation who we were and how we really played. We walked sulking to the locker room and we sat there in silence. I felt my heart sink. I looked around at all of my fellow teammates that I have had the privilege to play with over my last two years of college and the tears began to roll. I have never felt more part of a family than I have here at Lander. Each of these girls truly care about every player on this team.

My role in particular on this team was not the one who took the game winning shot or the one who set school records with points or steals. I was a vocal leader. I had an interesting perspective sitting the remainder of the season on the bench. With my background and view of the game I was able to help my teammates during games and was the one to pick them up during the roller coaster ride of runs during the games. I was always asked why I ran extra or got extra shots up if I didn’t really play. My response was that I have to perform at a high level to make the team better and push the starters. If they aren’t pushed in practice WE don’t get better as a TEAM. Yes there were times when I felt like giving up and not coming in to work out extra but I kept telling myself that win or lose, playing or sitting the bench, if my name was called, I would know deep inside that I had did everything in my power to make sure I was ready. That is something I want to reiterate to anyone out there reading this because as coach Pederson always says, “stay ready.”

My teammates always made me feel apart of the team no matter how much I played and emphasized that every puzzle piece to this team was needed for the ultimate goal of winning a championship. We never let anyone in our “wolf pack” lag behind. It was truly an honor to play for Lander University as well as Coach Pederson and Coach Shoemate. They have taught me lessons that I will carry for the rest of my life. I honestly feel like I became a much better person transferring to the good old city of Greenwood, SC.

After a valiant effort Lander was edged by Rollins 66-62 to end their postseason run. Click here for a recap of the game and here for video highlights.

Elite Eight

On March 12th the Lander Bearcats defeated Wingate in a double overtime thriller that clinched their first ever NCAA Southest Region Championship and a trip to the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas. Senior Rachelle Rasley has graciously volunteered to blog about their experience on the road to the Elite Eight.

Rachelle Rasley

There were moments in the region final game that I thought my collegiate career was over. Wingate would not seem to go down without a fight. The game was going point for point in the double overtime competition. Finally, Brittni Johnson, one of our 8 seniors on our measly 9 player roster, sunk the game winning three followed by a pair of free-throws from Jasmine Judge to seal the deal . Words cannot describe how I felt. I probably busted a blood vessel in my neck from screaming so much; we were region champs and heading to the Elite Eight in San Antonio, Texas. Never have I ever been this far in competition in my college career. I came to Lander from Division I North Florida and we fell just short of the NCAA tournament and a chance to play UConn in a heartbreaking loss, but to say I have the opportunity to play for a national championship eclipses everything else.

The Bearcats are participating in their first ever Elite Eight.

The morning of the flight to San Antonio the girls were a little nervous. Needless to say this was the first time some of them had been on a plane. Upon reaching San Antonio, we were excited to find out we were staying at this amazing Hyatt hotel. We were within walking distance of the Alamo and the mall so it was a win-win situation for everyone. After sightseeing and a little bit of shopping it was back to business. We went to an elementary school down in the inner city and were able to talk to the kids about the importance of the state test they were taking the next week. It was such a great experience to go up and speak in front of these children as this will be something they remember for a long time. After that we headed to St. Mary’s University for our 55 minutes of practice time that we are allowed. We went extremely hard. Coach wanted to send a message to us, not the people that were watching the open practice, that we came here for a reason. We meant business. I overheard a couple NCAA representatives saying no one practice harder than us that day. That’s what we were going for because as it is said “failing to prepare is like preparing to fail.”

The Bearcats speaking to a local San Antonio elementary school.

Later that night we attended the NCAA Elite Eight banquet at Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. It was a beautiful place but we laughed as we found out that we were only given two tables to fit everyone on our team while every other team had three or four. This didn’t surprise us though. Also the fact that Lander only had four clips on the highlight reel while the other teams had numerous didn’t surprise us either. To top it off, we were told to wear our travel warm-ups and when we got there, everyone else was completely dressed up. We didn’t care however, we wore our warm-ups with pride and squeezing our nine players at one table and all dressed alike made us look even more like a team.

Coach had also stressed the word “sacrifice” all season. What were we going to sacrifice to win. We all gave up our phones as sacrifice and haven’t had them for practically two weeks now. Sitting around the table together and talking made a huge difference. All the other teams at their tables were engulfed in their phones texting and listening to music during the banquet. The togetherness we developed brought us to call ourselves, jokingly, the “wolf pack”. Our small team with only nine players is going to stay together as a wolf pack and accomplish something no one thought we could. The first game is against Rollins College and this wolf pack is going to do everything in its power to make it to the Final Four. People shouldn’t doubt teams that come out of the Peach Belt Conference because we come to play!

Preview tonight’s Elite Eight contest between Lander and Rollins here. You can watch the game live on NCAA.com here (tip off is at 9:30pm).

The Road to San Antonio

By Mia Antoine

Hello all!

I know I know, it’s been a while and there’s so much to catch up on! It feels like New Year’s was just celebrated and the calendars already read March. I can’t really believe how fast time flies. I guess it’s true, time flies when your having fun (and kept extremely busy).

Let’s see where do we start? Well how about with–my team won the Peach Belt Conference tournament! We are officially PBC Champs! Winning the championship game was so exciting and surreal and I’m sure that not one of my teammates, coaches, parents,  and fans could have been happier in that moment. With a win this big, your body seems to forget all the hurt and pains from the game, and instead, explodes with joy and bursts with excitement. From all the adrenaline, you really have no control over your body, resulting in pictures like this…

And this…

And this…

Since we won the conference championship, the regional tournament is going to be hosted at USC Aiken, our school and in our gym, and once again we couldn’t be any happier. We have to win the next three games, which would win us the southeast regional championship and  take us to the Elite Eight, which will be held in San Antonio this year. I don’t want to overlook the games that we have to win to even get to there, but you can’t help thinking of winning the whole thing and becoming national champs—after all this is what we’ve been working so hard to get.

Winning the conference tournament was an amazing and unforgettable experience, but it’s only a stepping-stone to reaching our ultimate goal. We can’t  focus on that win anymore because we have much more to accomplish as a team. We have to leave what’s in the past in that past, lace up our shoes, and battle it out for a spot in the Elite Eight, the Final Four, and then bring home the title.

We will define ourselves. We won’t focus on the damages that a possible loss can cause, but we won’t forget the sting of its presence. We won’t anticipate the sensations of being champions, but we will demand them. We define ourselves and no one else is responsible.

Watch Mia and the rest of the USC Aiken Pacers Women’s Basketball squad in the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship. Click here for more information and links to live webcasts of all the games and post game press conferences.

2012 PBC Basketball Championship Highlights

Action from all the games of the 2012 PBC Basketball Tournament, hosted by Columbus State University.