Coley wins Player of the Year in Sun Belt

By: Brandon Wise/ Asst. Sports Director

brandon.wise@fiusm.com

If there is one thing that this season has proven, it’s that Coley has staying power at the top.

On Feb. 29, she was honored for her performance this year by the Sun Belt, which named her the Player of the Year for the conference.

She currently the third leading scorer in the nation at 24 points per game, just a half a point behind second place Tavelyn James of Eastern Michigan.

The sophomore is also 41st in the nation in blocks per game, averaging two per contest.

Also making an appearance on the all-conference team was Fanni Hutlassa who was named to the third team.

 

TOURNEY TIME

 

Throughout the season, the Panthers have slid up and down the standings. Whether it was losing to Texas San Antonio early in the year, which is 8-19 on the season, or defeating Albany and Auburn as a part of the Sun and Fun Classic, FIU went through its own turmoil this season. But, as of now, the team is playing well at the right time. At least, that is, according to head coach Cindy Russo.

“We are definitely getting better with every game,” Russo said. “I was most proud of them last game because it was a very physical game and they played back like that.”

She knows, however, that this tournament will be telling to who the best team is, especially because the officials are going to leave it in the players’ hands.

“The games are going to be hard,” Russo said. “Most of the time, the officials will let them play; they don’t want to determine the outcome.”

Junior guard Carmen Miloglav is excited for the tournament, especially that they were able to hold off South Alabama on Feb. 25.

“I think we are really ready for [the tournament],” Miloglav said. “We are happy that we didn’t get the four seed because then we would have had to play the host, Arkansas State, and then the other host, in UALR. It’s kind of easier to go into the tournament against two teams you have beaten before.”

In the first matchup of the tournament, the Panthers will face off against Louisiana Lafayette, who went 7-22 overall and 1-15 in the Sun Belt. Their only win in the conference came at the last possible time, in their final game against Louisiana Monroe.

Sophomore sensation Jerica Coley believes that the team needs to pick up its intensity as a whole heading down the final stretch of the season.

“We need to keep up the good rebounding that we did in the last game,” Coley said. “We’ve been doing pretty good on defense, so if we pick up our defense a bit and our intensity overall.”

As of late, Coley has struggled a bit with her shot, going 5-18 in the past two games. Russo would like to see Coley starting to pass it off a bit more than she has.

“[Coley] doesn’t see the court as well as she needs to,” Russo said. “But, she will definitely step up when she needs to.”