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Leading by example: Senior guard Jamia Malone is doing all she can this season to help get her team another WAC title
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When the Western Athletic Conference title is in reach, expect determination. When fourth and ninth ranked offenses compete, expect a fight. And when Jamia Malone’s on the court, expect a win.
The senior guard out of Peoria, Ill. helped keep the Broncos (14-10, 7-3 WAC) alive in and in reach of a WAC title with a 58-53 victory against San Jose State University (2-22, 1-10 WAC) Friday night at Taco Bell Arena.
Malone had 10 points including two three-pointers along with four rebounds.
Spectators were told to keep an eye out for San Jose’s Chasity Shavers. The junior guard is an ex-teammate of Malone’s from Tyler Junior College in Texas.
“I really wish she had come,” Malone said. “I really wanted to play against her. Just like I wanted to play against my other teammate from La Tech last week who blew her knee.”
Instead, the Spartans sent out senior guard Natalie White who led the team with 13 points and 11 rebounds as well as junior guard Kelly Blair, who also had 13 points.
Malone has scored in the double digits in eight games this season. Her season-high game came against New Mexico State Feb. 6 with a total of 19 points, one rebound and five assists.
“That felt great,” she said. “Last year they broke our hearts there in the WAC tournament, so us returners were out for blood. It felt good to get in there and do what I do.”
“That was huge,” senior Brittany Moore said. “She was finally herself. She was just shooting and not really thinking about it, and you could tell. We’ve all had rough games, but she really steps up and takes the shots.”
Though her stats aren’t spectacular, there is something about Malone that keeps her team going. She is currently ranked fifth in the team’s scoring average (6.7 per game), rebounding average (3.3 per game) and free throw shooting (1.2 per game). However, she leads the team in assists (3.1 per game) and playing time (29.5 minutes per game).
“Jamia’s the one that when you do something good, she’s there in your face, chest bumping you,” Moore said. “She gets you really excited to play.”
Malone had to step up and take on this leadership role since the early games of the season due to a loss of players.
Jessica Thompson is not playing this season, and early season injuries influenced both junior Ja’Lara Walker and Malone’s closest teammate, Tasha Harris.
“When Tasha went down, the leadership went down,” Malone said. “The enthusiasm went down, so I had to fill that bubble and start running the team. She’s always there after every game, criticizing me, telling me what to do better. She helps me out a lot.”
Malone will be at home again this weekend when the Broncos to take on Utah State Friday night and Nevada Sunday afternoon.
SILVER HENRY
Arbiter Journalist
