Iron lady leads women's basketball team
By Andrew Reeder, Staff Writer
February 21, 2008 | 11 a.m.
From Brett Favre to Cal Ripken Jr., sports fans hold a special place in their hearts for the athlete that performs consistently at the highest levels of competition. Quintana Ward is that player for the Ohio University women’s basketball team.
Since her freshman year as a Bobcat, senior point guard Ward has played in all 111 games of her career and has started in 97 of them, while avoiding any major injuries by taking care of her body.
“I think a big part of it is preparing your body, so like getting in the weight room, eating right, getting some rest,” Ward said. “I think all of those things are very important to stay injury free.”
Associate head coach Stephanie Lawrence Yelton can attest to Ward’s hard work both on and off the court.
“You can count on her being on the court. You can count on her doing extra. You can count on her working hard in the weight room,” Yelton said. “I think that has equated to her being healthy enough to play the minutes that she plays because she does the extra things.”
After shaking off a bruised bone in her knee during the preseason, Ward has been able to make positive contributions on the court by playing through minor nagging injuries. However, the 5-foot-3-inch senior gives all the credit to God.
“God is the head of my life, and personally he has blessed me with not having to deal with any big injuries that would make me miss a game,” Ward said. “I can just go out on the court and show my talent through him.”
Ward has put her talent on display at the Convocation Center over the past four seasons by racking up 434 assists, making her second all-time on Ohio’s career assists list. This season Ward leads the team by averaging four assists a game.
“She does a good job of getting her teammates involved,” senior Simone Redd said of the Bobcats’ co-captain. “As a point guard, she looks for the open players and tries to get them the ball.”
While playing alongside each other throughout their careers, Redd believes that Ward has not only made her a better player, but she has made the team better as a whole. “Q[uintana] is very competitive, and so when she’s in that competitive mode, it kind of motivates us to be in that competitive mode.”
The Bobcats are 14-9 overall and 7-3 in the Mid-American Conference this season, good for third place in the MAC East division. Coach Yelton acknowledged Ward’s consistency as playing a key role in the team’s success.
“The coaches know what they are going to get from Q[uintana] every time she steps on the court,” Yelton said, “so it helps us to be able to implement game plans and know that those game plans are going to be executed because of the type of player she is.”
As one of only three seniors on the team, Ward has put her stamp on the women’s basketball program at Ohio by being a leader and setting an example for the younger players, including six freshmen.
“Having her as senior leader in our program has helped our younger kids come along a little faster and a little further than they would have otherwise,” Yelton said.
Redd agreed. “She’s a great leader. She’s a great captain,” Redd said, “and she does a good job of running this team.”
Although they make up only a small percentage of the team, senior stalwarts Quintana Ward, Simone Redd and Lauren Kohn have accounted for 45 percent of all Ohio’s points scored this season and have played a combined 1,651 minutes.
“We just finally have that stability and that foundation,” Ward said, “and hopefully it carries us through all the way to the NCAA tournament.”
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