helps lure Miss-Lou

products Mazique, Pryor

to Mississippi Valley

By

ADAM DAIGLE

Don’t get Christen West talking about her days playing high school ball at Natchez.

Now she won’t tell you all kinds of stories of how things used to be, her glory days or how the Lady Bulldogs beat this powerhouse team out of Jackson or pulled an upset or two.

Instead, West will tell you the days of when the Lady Bulldogs had a little defensive sparkplug come off the bench by the name of Karmethia Mazique.

Now the speedy defensive specialist is getting ready to play her first season of Division I ball, but West relishes in the memories of when Mazique was the best secret weapon a team could have.

&uot;You should have seen her my senior year,&uot; said West, who last played during the 2001-02 season. &uot;She was the sixth man off the bench. We’d wear (teams) out, and then she’d get in the game. She’d step it up full speed. We’d get some easy layups.&uot;

That little sixth man blossomed into a college prospect, and now the two will get a chance to play on the same team again this fall when they suit up for Mississippi Valley State.

That’s not the entire reason West is excited. Former Ferriday standout LaShawnda Pryor will suit up as well as head coach Nate Kilbert signed two smallish, defensive-minded bandits who created havoc for the opposition in both high school and junior college.

And truth be told, West had a little hand in getting both at Valley.

&uot;They’re both the same,&uot; West said. &uot;One’s a better passer, and one’s a better shooter. Defensively, they’re the same. I know what type of heart they have.

&uot;It’s not because I went to school with them or because I’m close with them. I think they can help us and they won’t give up. I don’t know if it’s a little people syndrome or what. They’ve got a whole lot of heart, and that’s what I respect about them.&uot;

The two guards along with West, who sat out last year at Valley following two seasons at Texas State, have Kilbert and others with Valley women’s basketball excited about the 2005-06 season despite it being three months away from the start of practice.

That’s actual optimism &045; something rare for a program with an overall mark of 30-80 over the last four seasons.

&uot;I only lost one person last year, and I think we’re going to have people step up,&uot; said Kilbert, a longtime Alcorn assistant. &uot;I think practice is going to be really intense. They’re competitive. That’s what I think we’ve been missing here &045; the will to compete.&uot;

Mazique, Prior sign up

Mazique played basketball the only way she knew how at Meridian Community College &045; play all out on defense, hit the open man on offense and make the offense go at the point.

And whether or not college offers came in, so be it. If not, she was fully prepared to enroll at Mississippi State as an ordinary student.

But the offers started to come in. Offers from schools in West Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana and even Alaska. Southeastern Louisiana and Valley showed some heavy interest, and Mazique spoke with West and high school friend Dalisa Lewis, who is enrolled at Valley.

They made her decision easy.

&uot;I thought about (SLU), but Valley kind of came at me,&uot; said Mazique, a first-team All-Metro selection as a senior. &uot;I wasn’t interested in going too far. (West) is who actually got me interested in it. I consider her like family. I got to talking to her about her talking to the coach. Plus, it’s not far away from Natchez. I’m kind of like a homebody.&uot;

Mazique was the top defender for her team at Meridian and averaged between three and four steals a game. Even though she was small, her ability to play on the defensive end was enough to gain attention from small schools like Valley.

That and her ability to run the point.

&uot;That’s the position we felt we were lacking in last year &045; the point guard,&uot; Kilbert said. &uot;I think (West) helped us get Mazique to come here. I watched her play at Meridian and run the offense. Her ability to run the offense was just super.&uot;

Mazique’s scoring abilities blossomed a bit last season as she was second on the team in scoring. She helped the Lady Eagles get to the state tournament, and it was an experience she didn’t regret regardless of the result.

&uot;I’m just good at anticipating passes,&uot; Mazique said. &uot;It’s just something that comes to me. It’s easy for me to read other people’s minds. That’s how I get most of my steals. Being so small, it’s easy for me to steal the ball. It’s just something we worked on a lot in high school, and it came easy to me.&uot;

The same can be said for Pryor, although the Ferriday native was more of a scorer in high school and at Hinds Community College. You’d be hard-pressed to make a case for one being quicker than the other, but Kilbert may be the arbitrary judge to make that call.

&uot;I like the surroundings, and it was fun when I went up there,&uot; said Pryor, who drew interest from Southern, Alabama State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. &uot;My shot got better (at Hinds). I always knew how to play defense well, but everything got better &045; going to the left and everything.&uot;

West to return

For a freshman playing for a Division I team miles away from home, West couldn’t have asked for a better situation playing for Texas State in the 2002-03 season. The Lady Bobcats earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament, knocking off perennial power Stephen F. Austin in the process, and were primed for a solid run.

Then the bottom fell out.

With it went West, who struggled while suiting up for a team that fell back down to earth with a thud with an 8-8 mark in conference and 0-11 non-conference mark.

&uot;My freshman year we did great &045; we won conference, broke a lot of records and beat a lot of people,&uot; she said. &uot;We had a big change my sophomore year, and it became real unfair. I knew I had to make a change. There were so many problems within the team I don’t want to get into.&uot;

That put the former Lady Bulldog on the hunt for a new home, and she renewed contacts with Kilbert through his days at Alcorn and her uncle, Alcorn men’s coach Samuel West. Kilbert was in his second season at Valley, and he made her an offer despite the condition she had to sit out the 2004-05 season as a transfer.

The Devilettes, with only eight players available, gave West a practice jersey instead.

&uot;If you’ve ever seen us practice and see us at game time, you’d say, ‘There’s something missing,’&uot; Kilbert said. &uot;She’s really the only true point guard I’ve coached since I’ve been here. With her, Mazique and Pryor, we’ll have people who know how to play.&uot;

With the three additions for this fall, the jury may still be out on who will get the most of the minutes at point guard &045; incumbent Latesha Smith played the position nearly 40 minutes each night out last season &045; while West may slide over to shooting guard.

But right now she can’t mask her excitement for a team that may have gotten significantly better during the off-season.

All with the help of some of her friends back home.

&uot;I don’t know if anybody realizes what we have and the potential we have as a team,&uot; West said. &uot;If I was coach, I’d be happy. We should have chemistry. I’m really excited about it, and I think we can do it. I’m that serious.&uot;