Aleshire shows true colors at Richmond

January 01, 1999|By BOB PARASILITI

(Page 2 of 2)

"I told her that she averaged 14 rebounds a game in junior college. She had better rebound today, or she would be sitting," Foley said. "It was kind of a threat, but she responded. She gave us another dimension at (power forward). She played inside but was able to come out and hit the 3. We had three players hitting the 3 (Monday), and that's tough to defend."

With a vote of confidence and a threat of inactivity, Aleshire responded with strong defense in the paint, bumping and grinding with bigger players to get position.

"When I saw the starting lineup, I was surprised," Aleshire said. "I saw I was inside and said, 'Oh my God,' because I didn't get focused for that girl. I had to pull out the scouting report and read it quick. It was OK because I love to play post defense. It's not that I don't have confidence, but I get nervous when I have to face a guard. In the post, I love to get in there and get physical."

For Aleshire, she flashed her career bests at the best possible time. She shined for the Spiders in Clear Spring fashion - by scoring 21 points, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers while being a team player on defense and in the set offense.

"I wanted to put on a good show," Aleshire said. "When I was looking to move on, I looked at coming to play for Maryland. My family was here to watch, and I love this gym, and I love Maryland. This was all kind of a dream. But I can't feel like this will get me to play for the rest of the season. It's a great feeling, but I can't lose focus."

Dreams usually get jolted by reality. The reality of Aleshire's dream is that time is running out on her collegiate athletic career just when it looks like things are starting to go well.

"I'm waiting before I think about that," Aleshire said. "My mom and dad want me to go to grad school so I can play volleyball for two years. They love coming to watch me. But no basketball or no volleyball, that will be weird. It's scary to think about, but all I want to do is end this on a good note and help us win. That's big."

Heather Aleshire weathered a personal storm. But with luck coupled with her character and attitude, her Richmond forecast seems to call for sunny days ahead.

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