Saturday, March 21, 2009

Gibbs excels in expanded role

by Barca Blog - Freshman Tia Gibbs has made the most of her expanded role at the guard spot off the bench since Jennifer Risper moved to the post to fill in for the injured Hannah Tuomi.

The Louisville, Ky., native averaged 10.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 26.3 minutes per game during the SEC Tournament, compared to only 4.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 11.0 minutes per game during the regular season.

"We had to get it done without Hannah, so I wanted to help the team as much as possible," said Gibbs.

The 5'9 guard displayed her shooting range in the SEC tourney, hitting 7-for-15 from behind the arc, but also wasn't afraid to mix it up on the boards much like Tuomi.

"Rebounding has always been a personal challenge for me," Gibbs added. "When I came here, I told myself that the amount of size wasn’t going to matter and I was going to still get in there and battle with the six-footers."

Along with freshman Jordan Coleman, Gibbs will be entering a new chapter of her young playing career tonight when she suits up for her first NCAA Tournament game.

"This is the next step. We’ve been working hard since conditioning in July. We’re finally here. I don’t think I fully know how big it’s going to be, but my expectations are definitely high."

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