Winthrop basketball teams look ahead to first-round Big South tournament matchups
Winthrop basketball’s teams play in the quarterfinal round of the Big South conference tournament at High Point University this week.
The women play Radford at 8 p.m. Thursday, while the men play Longwood at 2 p.m. Friday.
Both teams split their season matchups.
Winthrop men looking to end season on the up
Winthrop (17-14, 8-8) won four conference games in a row to open Big South play. The team won the same number of conference games over its final 12.
The games the Eagles have lost were close: six of their eight conference losses were by five or fewer points.
It’s been a season that head coach Mark Prosser describes as “a little bit up and down.”
“There’s a lot of stuff that we could have done different to have a different outcome potentially from where we are,” Prosser said. “We know that we’re still that team that is extremely talented. It’s deep and can play with anybody in the country, not just in our league. We have to do it for longer portions.”
In four of its conference losses, Winthrop held double-digit leads.
Prosser said that one thing his team is focused on heading into the tournament is not having mental lapses.
Unfortunate things may happen from time to time, but every player on the court needs to be engaged regardless of his performance.
“We’ve talked about it going into this week and going into this weekend, this is not the time of year where you can have those ‘my bads’,” Prosser said. “You’re going to miss shots, you’re going to turn the ball over. All that stuff is fine, that’s basketball. But the lapses of responsibility, this time of year, you have to really limit those and the team that does that the best will win this weekend.”
Winthrop has won its fair share of close games too.
Five of Winthrop’s conference wins this season and eight overall have been within 10 points.
The excitement of March Madness and the competitiveness of the Big South should bring some hotly-contested matchups in the conference tournament.
“We have good players, we have experienced players,” Prosser said. “We have guys that have been through this and understand the gravity of the situation of this time of year. But you can’t be tight. You can’t be playing to not make a mistake. We have a really good group that has a lot of fun playing, and they’re anxious to play together. We’re having fun preparing, and as long as we continue to play hard and try to limit those mental mistakes, we’ll be in really good shape.”
Senior forward and Great Falls native Kelton Talford finished the season first team All-Big South, averaging 14.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game on 62% shooting from the field.
Graduate center Alex Timmerman was named to the All-Academic Team.
Winthrop women looking to continue upward trend for program
Winthrop (14-15, 8-8) achieved a lot in its third season with Semeka Randall Lay as the head coach.
The team equaled the combined win totals from the previous two seasons and set its highest win total in a single season since the 2014-15 season. The team also finished with a non-losing conference record for the first time since that season.
Now, the Eagles are aiming to accomplish something that they haven’t done in over 10 years: win a game in the conference tournament.
Randall Lay is proud of the improvements that the program and her players have shown this season, and those accolades aren’t anything she takes for granted.
“When I originally got here (in 2019) and was an associate here with Lynette Woodard, that was the most games she won in her era of being at the helm of this program with 11,” Randall Lay said. “And I know how she felt. For us to exceed that and get a few more wins, it feels really good. I think our energy is in a good spot right here as we’re getting ready to go into the conference tournament.”
Only three players on the roster appeared in a game for the Eagles last year.
Eleven newcomers and a redshirt freshman joined the fold this year, but Randall Lay said that the close games her team has played has allowed them to grow and brought them closer.
Of the Eagles’ 16 conference games, only five were decided by double-digits.
Playing so many close games has also helped prepare her team mentally for the Big South tournament.
“Some have worked out to be in favor of us and some that didn’t,” Randall Lay said. “I don’t feel like as I’m going into this game that our kids would initially get tight. I do know that it’s ‘survive and advance’, and it’s March, it’s a different feel, but I feel good about our group understanding how hard they’ve got to play.”
The Eagles had two all-conference players this season, with juniors Marissa Gasaway and guard Jada Ryce earning honorable mention.
Gasaway finished the season averaging 9.4 points per game and a conference-leading 10.3 rebounds per game, while Ryce led the Eagles averaging 11.1 points per game to go along with 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game.
Ryce was also named to the all-academic team.