Spring Break
Gilliam expects excellence from women's basketball
Nicole Jacobsen, Associate Sports Editor, njacobse@smu.edu
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Sports
Ask soon to be junior forward Brittany Gilliam of the women's basketball team what she expects of her team next season, and she is likely to tell you there will be nothing short of perfection on the court in the fall.
Reigning from Tyler, Texas, Gilliam suffered a season-ending knee injury during the summer in 2005, but unless you knew about Gilliam's injury, you would never guess she missed playing in her final season at Tyler High School.
As a freshman at SMU, Gilliam played in all 30 games, including three starts. Making her mark as the third leading player in field goals, Gilliam also ranked second in steals, and posted the second-highest score total for a freshman.
The three-year letter winner in high school was also fourth in rebounds and blocked shots, and set a freshman game record against UTEP.
After crushing the University of Texas-El Paso in the C-USA Championship game, the Mustangs paid a visit to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2000, but fell short after round one in a 75-62 loss to Notre Dame.
"I think we should go farther than what we did [this last season]," said Gilliam. "I'm looking for us to honestly lose no less than three games."
Those are high hopes for any SMU sport, but after the women's season, it's not an unrealistic goal for the team.
"I was really excited to make it that far. Just seeing it and being in the atmosphere and going to the games and having the other teams there," said Gilliam. "It was like, 'Whoa! We're big time.'"
While the team rallied behind the strength if its five returning seniors, Gilliam's strong offensive presence was a key asset to the Mustangs' last games of the season. In the championship game against UTEP, Gilliam recorded a team-high 20 points.
"I really didn't even know I had that many points," recalled Gilliam. "My brother called me and he said it saw it on ESPN that I had 20 points. I was more upset because I kept fouling though."
Reigning from Tyler, Texas, Gilliam suffered a season-ending knee injury during the summer in 2005, but unless you knew about Gilliam's injury, you would never guess she missed playing in her final season at Tyler High School.
As a freshman at SMU, Gilliam played in all 30 games, including three starts. Making her mark as the third leading player in field goals, Gilliam also ranked second in steals, and posted the second-highest score total for a freshman.
The three-year letter winner in high school was also fourth in rebounds and blocked shots, and set a freshman game record against UTEP.
After crushing the University of Texas-El Paso in the C-USA Championship game, the Mustangs paid a visit to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time since 2000, but fell short after round one in a 75-62 loss to Notre Dame.
"I think we should go farther than what we did [this last season]," said Gilliam. "I'm looking for us to honestly lose no less than three games."
Those are high hopes for any SMU sport, but after the women's season, it's not an unrealistic goal for the team.
"I was really excited to make it that far. Just seeing it and being in the atmosphere and going to the games and having the other teams there," said Gilliam. "It was like, 'Whoa! We're big time.'"
While the team rallied behind the strength if its five returning seniors, Gilliam's strong offensive presence was a key asset to the Mustangs' last games of the season. In the championship game against UTEP, Gilliam recorded a team-high 20 points.
"I really didn't even know I had that many points," recalled Gilliam. "My brother called me and he said it saw it on ESPN that I had 20 points. I was more upset because I kept fouling though."
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