Friday, February 04, 2000
Holmes' Hallman scores, dishes
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
Holmes sophomore point guard Erica Hallman has mixed feelings about basketball. Oh, not her commitment to the game. She loves to play. She just has trouble deciding how.
Hallman, a fourth-year starter and the Bulldogs' recognized leader, admits she likes being the top dog — Holmes' go-to girl in the clutch. But she's also concerned with trying to make sure her teammates get their share of shots.
“I just try to let everybody else play,” she said. “I know I'm going to get mine.”
Thus far this winter, “mine” has translated into 22.1 points and 4.7 assists per game, both of which rank second in Northern Kentucky to Bishop Brossart junior Katie Schwegmann.
The 5-foot-7 Hallman also has averaged seven rebounds and 4.3 steals per game, and she is shooting 48 percent from the field.
“She's very important,” Holmes coach Alison McCarthy said. “We've been trying to express that to her, that she needs to step up and be a leader on the court because she has the most experience. She's the one who makes us go.
“She's the type of player who doesn't want to be in the spotlight herself. She wants somebody there with her, but she's got to be the one to go first.”
Hallman might be reluctant to grab the spotlight, but McCarthy still respects the mental development displayed by her point guard.
“She surprises so many people with the things she can do with the ball with her quickness,” McCarthy says. “She'll surprise the referee. She'll do a spin move, the ref will call traveling, and I'll have to argue. It's not traveling. It's just that he's never seen that before.”
Hallman is one of two starters who returned from the team that won the Ninth Region title last year. This year's Holmes team (10-7) has struggled in close games. Three of the Bulldogs' losses have been by four points or less.
The Bulldogs are ranked sixth in the Enquirer's Northern Kentucky coaches poll. Hallman helped Holmes snap a three-game losing streak Jan. 17 by scoring 27 points to help beat Campbell County. That started a streak of three wins in four games.
“We were on a losing streak, so that was a pretty big game,” Hallman said. “That made us look a little better.
“They just kept going to me late in the game. I like being the one they to go at the end of the game. It makes me feel a lot better to know that they think they can depend on you and that they can go to you.”
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