SACCO: Inside duo Squirrels’ golden acorns

STAUNTON

If news moved across the wire that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tapped John Stuart as part of his next Middle East envoy, nobody would be surprised.

That’s how diplomatic Stuart, the Mary Baldwin women’s basketball coach, can be. Which is why nobody should be surprised that the coach won’t offer a definitive answer if you just happen to ask whether junior Kara Hawkins and freshman Sabrina Desper are the golden acorns for the Squirrels.

Stuart is non-committal and you can’t blame him. The Squirrels should be doing some soul-searching after losing four straight, including another weekend sweep – this time at the hands of Christopher Newport and Averett.

Should they be guard oriented? (Maybe, if they start shooting better than 22.9 and 37.9 pecent from the field, as they did in their home losses this weekend.) Should they rely on their defense? (Possibly; they did match up well against CNU, but just couldn’t get shots to fall.)

But they shouldn’t search too hard or too long because, while Stuart won’t say it just yet, it’s become very obvious MBC could live the high life inside.

That’s where Hawkins and Desper play basketball. The Squirrels’ best hopes are in the paint.

MBC could do a lot worse than peg Hawkins and Desper as the horses to ride as the school looks to crawl its way back into a Division III tournament appearance. Surrounded by a young group of devil-may-care shooters, Hawkins and Desper see plenty of points on put backs. Hawkins is also second on the team in assists. Most of them go Desper’s way, turning that post player you heard little about whilst she was at Stuarts Draft into a USA South force. Desper’s growth lands squarely on Hawkins’ shoulders, proving that, yes, there’s more to Hawkins than just bruised post players — with egos to match — left in her wake.

In two games this weekend she recorded double-doubles. Her play against CNU – which included a mindboggling 17 rebounds – quickly got kudos from Captains coach Carolyn Hunter, who’s seen enough of Hawkins to last two lifetimes.

“She’s done it to us before,” Hunter said. “Let’s put it that way.”

But something — Desper — was missing Saturday.

Against CNU, with Desper minding a sore arm on the bench for all but three minutes, the Squirrels’ offense was so low Stuart needed a spatula to scrape it off the PAC floor. When Desper made her reappearance Sunday against Averett, it showed. Desper added nine points and 10 boards but, more importantly, everybody around her played better and Hawkins, with some help under the rim, put up her second double-double in as many days. This time, the Squirrels lost by only six points.

Hawkins, who barks orders and keeps the players calm on the floor, needs a helping hand in the paint. Desper has provided it, along with some inside chemistry to which Hawkins has taken a liking.

“We look for each other,” Hawkins said. “Even though she’s a freshman, we clicked automatically. The chemistry is amazing.”

That makes Saturday’s loss sans any quality time from Desper unsurprising.

“When she’s not out there it’s hard,” Hawkins said.

Stuart might see the road ahead paved with lane paint. He is not immune to the chemistry shown by Desper and Hawkins. He sees it; he knows it.

“Hopefully,” he said, “they’ll be a nice combo in the years to come.”

They’re a nice combo right now, too, and there’s nothing diplomatic about that.