‘Diamond in the rough’

STAUNTON
Who said that college basketball was harder?

On Nov. 18 Stuarts Draft High School graduate Sabrina Desper came off the bench for Mary Baldwin in front of a capacity crowd and scored 14 points in a loss to Eastern Mennonite in her first game in a college uniform. Two games later, Desper is leading the Fighting Squirrels with 47 points in three games.

“I felt like the transition was going to be really hard, but it’s not,” Desper said. “I mean, it’s a lot faster and more physical but it’s gone well.”

Desper also averages 4.1 rebounds a game.

Third-year Mary Baldwin coach John Stuart was shocked to see Desper’s performance, never expecting that the freshman would take control of the offense like she did.

“Sabrina has been an amazing post player for us this year, unexpectedly,” he said. “I really didn’t think she was going to come in here and contribute the way she has. She is a major threat for us right now.”

Desper, a soft-spoken 6-foot forward, said that she thought the transition from high school basketball games to college basketball games would be hard but the practices turned out to be the worst part.

“It was definitely hard, practice was hard, a lot different than high school,” she said.

Stuart hasn’t given Desper a chance to start yet, but she doesn’t mind coming off the bench and still dumping in double-digit numbers.

“I feel fine coming off the bench, it’s comfortable,” she said.

Last year the Squirrels lost leading scorer Jessica Carter (21 ppg) to graduation, and Stuart needed someone to produce the offense and become a leader on the floor.

“She runs the floor well,” Stuart said. “We can get her out on fast breaks for us and she can finish over the top for us. She has been able to display a great deal of speed for us and score. Right now she is like a diamond in the rough for us. A lot of people don’t know a lot about her.”

Christie Hamilton returned this season as a senior. Last season she was the Squirrels’ second-leading scorer.

The loss to Eastern Mennonite was the only home game that the Squirrels have played this season, and they will play two more on the road this weekend at the Smart Women Sweat tournament in Atlanta.

On Dec. 13, the Squirrels will return home for their USA South opener against Meredith College and then will play Peace College on Dec. 14. Stuart is looking forward to the start of conference play.

“I think our chances are good against those two teams,” he said. “It’s going to be good to play teams like that to see where we are before playing at Greensboro. Playing those two teams first will give us an idea at where we sit.”

For Desper, the return home means another chance to play in front of her friends and family from Stuarts Draft.

“It’s going to be really nice to come home; with EMU it was packed,” Desper said.

Despite its 1-2 record, the Squirrels have only been outscored 164-173 by their opponents.

“[Teams] know we lost Jessica … and a lot of people think since we lost Jessica we lost everything, but we have 11 young ladies that can compete.”

Mary Baldwin finished the season last year by winning five of seven games, with two of the wins coming against Methodist and Christopher Newport.