Point guard looking for sixth Big South Freshman of the Week honor to tie record

By David Thackham

thackhamd@mytjnow.com

Freshman point gurad Dequesha McClanahan won her fifth Big South Freshman of the Week title. She needs just one more win to tie with former player Ashley Fann, who won six of the titles. Photo by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@mytjnow.comIf you had to describe the 2010-2011 Winthrop women’s basketball season, it would have to be personified by its electrifying, disappointing, up-and-down, but most of all, promising freshman Dequesha McClanahan. The point guard is a microcosm of her team, which has had a roller-coaster season, from their 16-point shooting night debacle against Southern Polytechnic State to their 93-46 blowout win against Southern Wesleyan University. 

McClanahan, five-time winner of the Big South Freshman of the Week award, needs just one more similar honor this season to tie the record of a Winthrop legend. Ashley Fann came to Winthrop with the Eagles in the summer of 2005 after their worst ever season, recording only two wins out of 28. With Fann’s help, the team righted the ship in impressive fashion, finishing the season at 14-15.

And now McClanahan, just two years after Fann graduated, looks to do the same with her current team. Last year’s Lady Eagles were 13-18 and 2-13 away from Winthrop Coliseum. Although the 2010-2011 season has not been one of immediate success, the hope is that the team finishes strong, with just eight games left in the regular season. 

“I think they’ll be fine,” said Fann, now a color commentator for the Winthrop Eagles radio program. “Coach [Childers] is really good at preparing them, but the second half of conference play is a lot different; teams have played you. They know what you like to do, so it’ll be a challenge… to find different ways to score,” Fann said.

Dequesha McClanahan needs just one more Big South freshman of the week award to beat Ashley Fann’s Winthrop record set back in the 2005-2006 season. Photo by Stephanie Eaton • eatons@mytjnow.comIndeed, conference games have been an obstacle for the Eagles, past and present. In Fann’s time, Winthrop was only .500 (7-7) within the Big South, while the current squad is .476 (3-5).  

The upside for the Eagles this season may prove to be their performance on the road. They picked up a vital conference win against UNC-Asheville and played respectably, despite losing against Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth, both away from Rock Hill. 

The Eagles’ last games of the season consist of just two games at Winthrop; the other six away from home. 

Although Fann and McClanahan mirror each other in tenacity and work ethic, the two have led their team, win or loss, in markedly different aspects of the game. 

“They’re two different kinds of players,” Childers said. “Dequesha is a point guard, [so] we count on her to do more things than score points and rebound.She has to run our attack and manage the game. [Fann] is more of a finisher and rebounder. 

The statistics tell the story best: Although the duo had nearly identical scoring, steals and turnover averages, McClanahan has already more than doubled Fann’s assists per game (APG), while Fann collected three more rebounds than the young point guard per game. 

Both freshmen had found trouble being consistently dominant in their first year with the Eagles. Against Birmingham-Southern University, Fann had a season-low three points. McClanahan has had two games with no points at all, against Lander and Liberty universities. 

“We always have to keep in perspective that she’s [McClanahan] a freshman,” Childers said.    “Ashley Fann had a lot of dud games, and freshmen are going to do that, but she has the ability to come back and have a great game any night out.”

As a forward, Fann’s freshman statistics are skewed. McClanahan’s field goal percentage of 33.1 and 26.6 (compared to Fann’s 42.0 FG percent/ 36.2 3-point FG percent) from behind the 3-point line belie her impact on the team. While Fann had the assistance of first-team All-Big South Iva Milevoj and super free-throw shooter, Ashley Carey, McClanahan has had to put her team on her back to get the Eagles back in winning form. 

Veterans, such as seniors Lacey Lyons and Chantel Johnson have not been on form to help their younger teammates. Lyons has come up with only two blocks this season, while Johnson (1.1 PPG) is struggling to reach the basket. 

“I had senior help,”Fann said, “that helped me grow and carry the team, but McClanahan’s seniors have been in a slump,” Childers said.

“[Lyons and Johnson] haven’t had four years vested in the program, [so] this team is centered around our younger players.

Unfortunately, the other freshmen have not been able to make their mark yet. Samiya Wright and Christine Rishel had to forfeit their freshman year due to season-ending injuries within the first month of practice. 

So, the responsibility fell to McClanahan, which is where it was always likely to go. The exercise science major only needs one more Big South Freshman of the Week to enter the elite of Winthrop basketball freshmen. But she would do well to heed the words of someone who has been there before. 

“Only certain people can handle [putting a team on your back],” Fann said. “When you’re a young player, you’re trying to develop your game while trying to carry your team, and that’s hard.”

Women’s basketball returns to action against Coastal Carolina University in Conway on Feb. 12 to kick off a four game away conference pattern that also includes Liberty, Presbyterian and Radford.