STARKVILLE — Kendra Grant is accustomed to be a target.
When you’re a “shooter” it’s difficult to blend into a game or sneak through the lane or rub off a screen to get an open shot.
But Grant learned how to outfox the toughest scouting reports in a standout career at Richland High School. Nineteen games into her first season as a member of the Mississippi State University women’s basketball team, Grant is learning every day and is showing she is just as capable of being a “shooter” in one of the nation’s top Division I conferences.
“Whether it falls or not, I am going to shoot it,” Grant said. “If you miss 10, the next 10 I am going to make.”
Grant has looked comfortable in making the transition from high school to college. She has started every game this season and has played a key role in a strong start that has MSU 13-6 and 3-3 in the Southeastern Conference. Grant and MSU will try to build on a two-game SEC winning streak at 7 tonight when they play host to the University of Arkansas (14-5, 3-4) at Humphrey Coliseum.
Grant is coming off a career-high 15 point-effort Sunday in a 62-57 victory against Auburn University in Starkville. The game pushed Grant’s scoring average on the season to 7.9 points per game, which is third on the team behind Diamber Johnson and Porsha Porter. She is averaging 9 ppg. in SEC games, including 12 ppg. in home league games.
“I feel there is always room for improvement, especially because I am a freshman,” Grant said. “Coming off a game like (the Auburn game), it was kind of a confidence-booster. I needed a game like that, but I still have time to improve.”
Even though she is shooting 31 percent from the field, including 30.5 percent from 3-point range, Grant has stepped into the spot senior Mary Kathryn Govero occupied last season and has given the Lady Bulldogs a deep threat. Given all the talents Grant brought to Starkville, MSU coach Sharon Fanning-Otis said dealing with the size and quickness of players is the biggest adjustment any freshman has to make in Division I, particularly in the SEC. In high school, Fanning-Otis said there are quick players, but they’re often not as big or there aren’t as many of them.
“Kendra is very coachable,” Fanning-Otis said. “She listens and she is a hard worker. I think she is a player from her high school years could push the ball in transition, handle the ball fairly well, get the ball to the rim, shoot a jump shot, shoot the three, so she was very versatile as a guard. The main this is she works hard, she is coachable, and she learns quickly.”
Like Govero, Fanning-Otis said Grant, who is 5-foot-10, is learning how to become a more well-rounded player. She is showing signs of not settling for 3-pointers and forcing defenders to respect her ability to penetrate and take the ball to the basket.
“I see that in her, I expect that of her, and I think right now she is practicing the way it is going to take in trying to play the game in what it is going to take for her to become that player,” Fanning-Otis said. “She looks like she is tough enough and learning quickly and working hard. Those are ingredients you truly appreciate as a coach. That is what is going to make her good.”
Also like Govero, especially later in her career, Grant is gaining confidence and understands shooters have to have a short memory.
“In high school, I knew college was going to be totally different,” Grant said. “Now that I am here, it shows it is totally different. In high school, it didn’t really matter how long it took me to get my shot off. Here, you have girls who are quick and fast and tall and if you don’t get it off quick they are going to throw it in your face.”
Fanning-Otis said Grant also is similar to Govero in that she asks questions and tries to do things the way the coaches want them done.
“She is understanding defensively getting better two steps off, nose on the ball, how you’re going to stop someone, and how you have to take away the three and guard the drive,” Fanning-Otis said.
Fanning-Otis also sees Grant learning how to use screens better. In high school, Grant didn’t have to rely on her teammates to help free her for shots. This season, though, especially in an offense that uses a lot of screens, Grant is learning how not to leave a lot of space between her and a screen so she can rub off her player and create an opening so she has enough time to shoot.
“She had the confidence coming in. She was sitting on ‘G’, waiting on ‘O’,” Fanning-Otis said. “She is understanding to play I have to play through mistakes. The other thing is understanding the importance of defense, rebounding, and shot selection and the importance of them. … But she is a real team player. Even though she was shooting the ball early (early in the season), it wasn’t because she is a selfish player.
“I love her passion and the way she plays the game and the way she practices it and how she listens. With that, I think there is a real upside to her game. She is definitely making a contribution it seems like more and more relative to being a big part of our success.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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