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Tigers' Binford coming off solid outing
1/11/2010
By CONOR NICHOLL
cnicholl@dailynews.net
The Southwest Baptist (Mo.) University women's basketball team plays a gambling defense. The Bearcats try to double-team, trap and steal every pass. For Fort Hays State University, the game plan was simple and effective for senior guard Audra Binford.
"If you can just take care of the ball and get a pass out of the double-team and have one more pass, you've got a shot. It's perfect for Audra," Tiger coach Tony Hobson said. "She was camping over there. If they came after her, she is a very good shooter off of a one-dribble pull-up or she can hit the open 3. I thought we did a very good job of handling their pressure."
Binford had multiple open looks and created her own shot several times, yielding 5-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, for 15 points in Fort Hays' 90-64 home victory against Southwest Baptist on Saturday afternoon at Gross Memorial Coliseum. The win moved Fort Hays to 12-2 overall, including 4-2 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, and continued a turnaround season for Binford and Fort Hays.
The Tigers, despite having four players hurt, have already matched their win total from the past two years, seasons that yielded 12-15 and 12-16 records.
"It's great," Binford said. "That feels really good and we have got a good thing going for us. I just feel like we are building off of this and it's going to continue to get better and better."
Binford and the Tigers will play again today when they play host to Missouri Southern State University (9-5 overall, 3-4 MIAA). Tipoff is 5:30 p.m. at GMC. The Lions' Jasmine Lovejoy ranks fourth in the conference in scoring at 15.5 points per contest. It marks the second time in conference play FHSU has played two MIAA games in three days; the Tigers went 2-0 on a road trip last weekend to Truman State (Mo.) University and University of Central Missouri. Fort Hays also will take a three-game conference winning streak into Monday's game. FHSU has never won four straight MIAA contests.
"It can be tough especially if you have people that are hurt or have injuries, but we have done it before already this year," Binford said of the quick turnaround. "We just got back from one. At least we are experienced and we know what to expect."
For the Tigers, Hobson lists junior forward Kara Champlin (back) and senior guard Kayla Klug (ankle) as "very questionable" for the game. Champlin was hurt in pregame shooting Saturday, while Klug suffered an ankle injury late in the second half.
"They don't gamble on defense," Hobson said of Missouri Southern. "They are still pretty athletic, but they are much more under control, more of a pattern on offense. They are a good notch better than (SBU). They kind of know how to win, so we have to bring our 'A' game to win that one on Monday. It will be a tough game for us."
Binford, formerly a strong 3-point shooter at Seward County Community College, struggled as a junior for Fort Hays. But no Tiger has seen a bigger jump in numbers this season.
"I just feel like I am more settled in this year," she said. "My teammates, I get along with them real easily. I have felt really good this whole year. I have felt like my shot is on and feeling good, and so hopefully I just continue with that."
In a slow-down offense at Seward County, the 6-foot Binford made 39.3 percent of her 3-pointers as a freshman and 38.6 her sophomore year. Her 134 career 3s ranks second all-time in Saints history. Last season, though, Binford shot 35 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from beyond the arc and averaged 10.1 points and five rebounds.
"I felt frustrated the whole season," she said.
As a senior, Binford has been comfortable on both ends of the floor. Binford, who called this season "probably the best year I have shot in college," has made 43.8 percent of field goals and 44.4 percent from 3-point range.
In addition, she has made 81.3 percent of her free throws, helping Fort Hays sink 75.5 percent of its foul shots, currently on pace to break the school record of 74.7 set in 1998-99.
"I think she is finally comfortable defensively with what we are doing because she played nothing but zone her whole career until she got here, practically," Hobson said. "She is more comfortable there. She is really playing well offensively, taking good shots, and I think she is rebounding better. Audra is just kind of quietly having a good, solid year for us. You can always count on Audra giving you about the same thing."
At times, Binford's junior year yielded games when she rarely scored. In a midseason stretch, she had one double-figure contest in nine games. Twice, she failed to record a point.
FHSU lost all eight of those contests when Binford scored in single figures. Overall, the Tigers were 11-4 when Binford scored in double figures, 1-12 when she was held to single digits. This season, Binford has been more consistent with five double-figure games and only three contests with fewer than six points.
"She might not score very much (in a single game), but it's 2-for-4 (shooting)," Hobson said. "If she gets 13 shots, she is going to hit six or seven of them most of the time. I think she is just playing with a lot of confidence right now."
Fort Hays' four seniors have helped the Tigers become one of the conference's better squads. Senior guard Naomi Bancroft leads the MIAA with 18.6 points per contest, with senior forward Erica Biel averages 10.4 points. Klug checks in at 8.9 points per game, followed by Binford. On Saturday, all four seniors tallied at least 15 points as the Tigers pulled away for a 26-point victory, the largest margin in an MIAA game since they switched conferences four years ago.
"She is really consistent and that is really kind of comforting when you got people in and out with injuries," Hobson said. "You got Audra. You kind of know what Naomi is going to give you. Kayla is a little more up and down, but more up than down. Erica is getting where she has played very solid for four or five games. Consistency is very important, especially when you go on the road. You just got to have it every game."
| Scoreboard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sport | Date | Opponent | Score |
| 2/18 | SW Baptist | L 66-53 | |
| 12/1 | Oklahoma - Panhandle | L 66-60 (OT) | |