Dr. Jekyll, Mrs. Hyde

Before my current writing life, there was The Hilltop, Howard University’s and the Nation’s Oldest Black Collegiate Newspaper, where many of the questions and themes I still explore first found their voice. What follows are my early published works, preserved in their original form.

From The Hilltop Archives

Originally published in The Hilltop, Howard University — January 24th, 2003

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Jekyll, Mrs. Hyde

"We're only as good as our last performance," said Lady Bison Head Coach Cathy Parson. If that's the case, their performance at Delaware State on Jan. 27 should be just as promising. However, the Lady Bison did not come across their 81-59 win over the Lady Aggies easily. 

 

They looked out of character in the first half and struggled with the 1-2-2 zone of A&T. Unable to penetrate the Aggie zone, the Lady Bison settled for poor outside shots and hardly went in the paint. 

 

"Their 1-2-2 zone, we've seen on tape before. The problem was we didn't execute the plays we called," Parson said. 

 

The Lady Bison shot only 36 percent from the field and went three-for-eleven from behind the arch. Fortunately, the Aggies were not able to pull away due to Howard's defense. 

 

Mid-way through the first half, the Lady Bison switched to a full court press. The Aggies had every opportunity to pull away in the first half, but they could not. They only managed to make a quick run to head into the locker room with a 35-31 lead.

 

The Lady Bison started the second half blazing. Asia Petty and Courtney Kirk led the team on a 26-2 run, giving Howard a commanding 58-39 lead with 9:34 left to play. 

 

The difference came in their defense, which complemented their offense. They maintained an alternating full court press of the 1-2-1-1 or the 3-2-1 set to disrupt the Aggies offense. 

 

"We knew their press. It wasn't that effective. My kids didn't attack it and they made a lot of unforced turnovers," said A&T Head Coach Roundtree. "Turnovers are always going to be the turning point of the game."

 

A&T's zone defense, which seemed to be impenetrable, was picked apart by the Bison offense. Drawing defenders to the ball, the Lady Bison started passing to the open players for high percentage shots. Since Howard was able to break down the zone, they scored 24 points in the paint and shot 72 percent from the charity stripe. 

 

Courtney Kirk led the team with 21 points and five rebounds; however, her biggest contribution came from finding her teammates. 

 

"I look for the open shot first and if it's not there I pass," said Kirk, who finished with six assists. The collapse of the Aggie zone allowed the Bison to dish out 22 dimes. 

 

The win on Tuesday put the Bison back to .500 in the MEAC. 

 

"This was the best game we played all year. It was an important game psychologically," Parson said. 

 

"We're getting better with every game. We're gelling every game," Kirk added

 

When asked if she was satisfied with the win, Petty said, "I am never satisfied. I'll take it but I am not satisfied. I am out of my rhythm and I am getting it back. Tonight my mind was clear and I was able to execute better." 

The next home game for the Lady Bison will be Jan 30 against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.