Macy puts stamp on Patriots

Last season was the winter of Francis Marion’s discontent. 

Under coach Valecia Tedder, the Patriots women’s basketball team suffered two losing streaks of seven games or longer en route to a 6-22 record.

A new season has dawned, however. Heather Macy takes over the reins of a once-proud program, and she hopes to change the culture as well as the team’s play.

Macy welcomes the challenge of Peach Belt play and a non-conference schedule that includes Wingate, Mount Olive and Coker.

“I want to coach against the best, and that’s why I took the challenge ( at FMU),” she said. “The Peach Belt Conference is one of the best in Division II, and we will not back down from any team.”

The players Macy inherited say little about last season.

“To tell you the truth, they don’t talk about last year. They leave the past in the past,” Macy said. “It’s a new season with new faces and a new attitude. These returnees aren’t carrying the spirit of losing.”

It all starts with the roster. Macy and her assistants brought in 10 new players. Six are transfers, including sophomore guard YaRiah Bell, who played one season for Macy at Pfeiffer.

“We had an excellent recruiting cycle,” said Macy, who is 40-20 in her coaching career. “We worked the phones and miles hard to get the players we needed to turn this program around.

“The look of this team will be completely different when we take the floor for our home opener Tuesday against Milligan College.”

Five of the newcomers will be starters for the season opener Saturday against Mount Olive. Kevina Ransom, Evelyn Ruff and Jennifer Dyer will fill the guard positions.

Rita Grayson and Ebony Allen will give FMU an inside presence. Grayson can move to guard as well.

“Everyone was equal coming into our first practice,” Macy said. “The new kids picked up the system faster, and that’s why they’re starting.

“But I can put 10 other combinations on the floor at any time and have no drop-off in talent.”

Macy has all five starters from last year’s team coming off the bench. Despite the changes, the coach said she will still count on them.

“We’ve talked a lot about what defines us as a unit,” Macy said. “Of the nine returning players, six are seniors, and they all want to end their careers on a high note.

“They want to win, no matter who gets the credit, and that’s a tribute to their unselfishness.”

While Macy is quite close in age to her players at 29, she downplays the significance.

“I don’t think relating to (the players) has anything to do with age but what you have in common,” she said. “We all share one thing in common, and that’s basketball.”

This isn’t the first time Macy has been charged with resurrecting a program. In 2005, she took over a Pfeiffer team that went 8-20 the previous season. Two years later, Macy guided the Falcons to a 26-5 record, a Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference championship and a trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.

She was named the CVAC coach of the year as her squad led the nation in scoring offense (83.8 ppg) at the end of the regular season.



Coach: Heather Macy (1st season; 40-20 in 2 years)

Conference: Peach Belt

Last year’s record: 6-22, 3-13

Key players lost: Chelsea Quinlan (3.7 ppg, 1.6 rpg); Shaketa Preal (2.4 rpg)

Top returnees: G Brittany Young (11.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.6 apg); C Shavonne Mack (4.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 71 blocks); G Renee Guilliams (6.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 38 percent 3-pt shooting); F Shonelle Downer (5.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 42 blocks); F Katherine Kiefer (7.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 81.9 percent free-throw shooting)

Impact newcomers: G

Shannon Singleton-Bates

(5-9); G Kevina Ransom (5-5); G-F Rita Grayson (5-10); F-C Ebony Allen (5-11); F Ashley Abed; G Jennifer Dyer