Joey Bennett
Special to the Tribune-Star
TERRE HAUTE —
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
Seibert scored a career-high 21 points at Southern Utah last month in the middle of a three-game stretch of starting assignments for the 8-17 Mastadons.
She earlier had a 13-point outing against Missouri-Kansas City, and averages 3.0 points per game while shooting .460 from the field, .400 from 3-point range and .625 from the free throw line.
Seibert only played nine minutes in the team’s last game against Oakland last weekend, and IPFW Coach Chris Paul considers the fluctuation of success to be normal.
“In your freshman year of college basketball, getting in is tough, whether you’re at IPFW or Purdue,” Paul said. “There is definitely an adjustment period. You not only have to adjust to basketball, but also academics and being away from home – you have an incredibly new schedule.
“A lot of that came into play early in the year for Haley.”
On the court, the normal increases in the opponent have also been an adjustment.
“With Haley, it was more of a ‘speed of the game’ thing,” Paul said. “It’s a lot faster and more physical. She needed to figure out how to increase her speed and play more physically than in high school, and she’s starting to pick it up.”
Seibert got her first career start against Longwood on Jan. 16, then had her breakout game five days later at Southern Utah in the team’s first Summit League road game of the year.
“She was 8 of 12 from the floor, 4 of 5 from three, and played very confident,” Paul said. “She handled the ball when open and did a great job. She’s a great shooter, and she just went out and played.”
I I I
n Akers moves into starting lineup — Eastern Illinois’ men’s basketball team got off to a 9-5 start this year, but a nine-game losing streak to begin 2012 send the Panthers hurtling toward the bottom of the Ohio Valley Conference standings.
Enter Northview junior guard Austin Akers, who was inserted into the starting lineup for the team’s game against Tennessee Tech earlier this month and helped EIU to snap its losing streak with four points and three assists in 27 minutes.
Akers and the Panthers have now won three straight games, and over the past four games the 6-2 point guard has 16 assists and just two turnovers.
n Throneburg takes new job — Casey-Westfield grad Derek Throneburg has joined Tony LaRussa and Albert Pujols in departing the St. Louis Cardinals following last year’s improbable World Series victory.
Throneburg worked for 10 years in season ticket sales for the Cardinals, but recently began a new job as the Vice President of Ticket Sales Strategy with the Indiana Pacers.
Throneburg, who played baseball collegiately at Olney Central and the University of Illinois, was a part of a franchise that hosted more than 32 million fans at two different Busch Stadiums, an All-Star Summer in 2009, three National League Championships and two World Series Championship parades.
“The number of pieces that have fallen into place for this transition could not have been scripted any better and I'm positive that great things lie ahead,” he said on his Facebook page. “I will truly miss my friendships in St. Louis, but I'm excited to make Indy my next home.”
Younger brother D.J. moved to Indianapolis last year and is beginning his second year as pitching coach at Butler.
n McCarthy stepping up — Francesca McCarthy had 10 points recently for Holy Cross College in a win over Calumet St. Joseph and has had a string of good games.
The sophomore center also scored 10 points against St. Francis and Trinity International. For the season she is averaging 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds.
n Olney men ranked 18th — The Olney Central men’s basketball team has moved up to 18th in the National Junior College Athletic Association poll, currently riding a six-game winning streak.
The Knights are 22-3 overall, and lead the Great Rivers Athletic Conference by three games with an 11-1 record.
Several Wabash Valley area players have helped Coach Mike Burris take his team to this
Sophomore guard John Michael Jarvis of Terre Haute South ranks fifth on the team in scoring at 9.2, while freshman Thomas Anderson of Terre Haute North averages 5.7 points per game, freshman Mason Gregory of Sullivan scores 3.0 points per game and former Terre Haute resident Noah Stewart averages 7.4 points per game.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
