ASU foward's love for the game 
Overcoming a knee injury was hard work for Karma 
Chris Boyce Varsity Sports 
 

Imagine dreaming of playing college basketball ever since you were in the second grade, finally getting there and then suddenly going down with an injury so severe you can still hear the noise in your head. 

Appalachian State basketball star Karma Edwards has been down that road and is still making the uphill climb back. 

Which leads any Southern Conference forward to wonder, “If she’s this good and still recovering, how good can she be?” 

The answer may take more games and more experience for this redshirt sophomore averaging 9.2 points per game, but the future looks promising. 

After a year on the injured reserve, Edwards made her mark as a redshirt freshman, becoming the starting point guard for 23 games. 

“I wasn’t very familiar with the point,” said Edwards.  “I’m a natural two guard, but I picked up a lot from Lauren Romano.” 

But the knee injury still haunted her, giving out numerous times while practicing at the Quinn Center and in October, doctors told Edwards that she had suffered two small tears on her surgically repaired ACL. 

“I was able to play the rest of the year on it and then had surgery the week after playing Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament,” said Edwards. 

It is tough to say whether Edwards would be any different of a player if she had not injured her knee, but occasionally Edwards has doubts. 

“Sometimes I think, ‘well, how much quicker would I be if I hadn’t torn it” said Edwards.  “There’s really no way to find out so I kind of use it as a motivational thing.” 

It is safe to say Edwards has not lost much quickness, and she certainly has not lost the competitive desire and intensity that has fueled her love for basketball ever since the second grade. 

Growing up in Shelby, Edwards found basketball at an early age but ended up excelling in volleyball as well. 

“There was a time when I thought I was gonna go to college and play volleyball but that kind of dissolved because it wasn’t what I loved,” said Edwards. 

What Edwards truly loved about basketball was the competitiveness. 

“It’s a rush, especially if you play on a team where everyone loves it as much as you do,” said Edwards.  “It’s just a lot of fun.” 

Edwards’ passion for the game led her to Appalachian State where she was recruited when her Crest high school squad came to play Watauga High. 

ASU was one of two schools Edwards considered, the other  being East Carolina but Appalachian’s far but not too far from home location was more appealing. 

In addition to the knee injury in her first year, a series of shockwaves hit the Appalachian basketball program. 

Head coach Linda Robinson, who led the Apps to an undefeated season in the conference the previous year, resigned and Barbie Breedlove took over. 
Five players quit, and Edwards’ freshman class was forced into important early roles. 

“It was unexpected,” said Edwards.  “It would’ve been easier if I’d had a year under my belt.” 

This year has been exciting as far as the team is concerned, according to Edwards. 

“It’s really special because we have so many weapons and you don’t have to be a leader on the court every night,” said Edwards. “Everyone gets their chance, and that’s just a part of being on a team.”  

Despite this year’s tremendous talent level, the Apps haven’t appeared to gel completely and have played streaky at times. 
But Edwards believes it is just a matter of time before things come together for the squad. 

“It’s just a matter of putting it all together and geling when were supposed to gel.  It’s so exciting when you’re out there and everyone’s on the same page and everybody’s doing their part,” said Edwards. “It gets me pumped.” 

It is not a rare occurrence when Edwards uses her intensity and tenacity on the court and feeds it to her teammates, elevating them to play on a higher level. 

Karma Edwards feels no pressure to repeat the success of last year’s run through the Southern Conference tournament, but certainly she would like to surprise people again. 

“Last year we lost six or seven and then won five straight and carried it on to the tournament,” said Edwards.  “I’m kind of hoping that’s starting, but everybody should take it one day at a time.” 

Edwards has almost no individual goals as a basketball player, she simply wants to stay team-oriented and fill her role. 

Still, she would like to be remembered, but not in a selfish way. 

“You’re not really remembered unless you ‘win, win, win,’ as far as stats are concerned but people remember the little things you do,” said Edwards.  

“I think everybody is remembered for something they do on this team.  My goal is for people to tell that I love playing basketball by the way I play.” 

Anyone who has watched Karma Edwards drive through the lane to the hoop or stick to a defender at the top of the key can tell you:  She has accomplished her goal. 
 

Senior Day ends with an emotional loss 
Mike Boteilho Managing Editor 

Sometimes games do not end like they should, and Senior Day for the Lady Mountaineers was just one of those games. While the Lady Apps won in every statistical column, they just did not have enough offense in the end as they fell to the East Tennessee State Lady Bucs 85-80 in overtime. 

“I apologized to those two seniors (Noel Dolan and Tiffany Chappell) that we did not send them out in better style,” said coach Barbie Breedlove.  “They are great kids, and we still have basketball to play, but they just won’t play it here, and I really would have liked for them to go out as winners, because they are winners as people.” 

While tears may have flowed because this was the last home game ever in Varsity Gym for the women, emotions ran wild for the two seniors who just finished their home careers. 

“It doesn’t really hit you until it’s over,” said Dolan. “It’s just indescribable sorrow.”  

Although the sorrow was greater for the two seniors, the rest of the team showed their pain for their leaders. 

“I’m just speechless right now.  I don’t know what it is going to be like without them,” said Karma Edwards. “I came in growing up looking up to them, they are like two of our role models.  It’s real hard when you are thrown together like this, and live together like we do.  It’s like you are one big family.  It’s going to be an adjustment for us next year, because we are losing two of our sisters.” 

This is the one thing that is special about the 1999-2000 Lady Mountaineers. 

Even though they are not the first place team in the Southern Conference, they put out a first place performance every night. That has to be attributed to the sense of family on the team.  

That kind of cohesiveness must be attributed to the senior leadership on this team. 

Both  Dolan and Chappell will be sorely missed in and out of the locker room. 

Although with the loss of two seniors, causing an emotional low, they have to look at the big picture.  

They are still in sixth place in the conference, and have a favorable schedule remaining, facing three teams having a combined record of 18-39.  

The Lady Apps have shown a resiliency for coming back after a loss all season, and this is going to be important, especially when playing Davidson on Saturday. 

“This is an eye-opener for us to know that we can hang with anyone,” said Dolan. “We beat Furman when they were number two, and we hung with ETSU and they are number two now, so we know we can play with anyone right now.” 

The women are not that far from being one of the best teams in the Southern Conference, and it is not hard to think that these girls will be poised to make a run in the Southern Conference Tournament. 

They did it last year, so why should this year be any different. The Lady Apps always get up for big games, and one only has to look to last weekend for an example of that. 

Nothing will ever replace the feelings the ladies and seniors had after Monday night’s loss, but a Southern Conference Tournament Championship might be just what the doctor ordered to send these two seniors out in style. 
 

Running Roo'd 
VMI Keydets claim their first confrence victory 
Anthony Holderied Varsity Sports 

Just when it feels like the train is back on track, the wheels suddenly come to a screeching halt. 

Following the first conference loss of the year at College of Charleston, Appalachian State rebounded with back to back victories over Greensboro and Wofford, only to fall to the lone team in the Southern Conference without a win Monday night. 

At Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va., a raucous crowd watched their 0-12 VMI Keydets play temporary spoiler and topple North Division leader Appalachian 78-69.  

Needing only one win in their next four games to secure their third straight North Division title, the Mountaineers were stymied by a Keydet squad that rallied from a 10 point halftime deficit. 

 Fueled by the return of Keydet starter Nick Richardson.  Richardson missed the last five games due to a knee injury. 

Richardson’s 18 points in 25 minutes of play gave life to a Keydet club that was down 37-27 at the half, but came back to outscore the Mountaineers 51-32 in the second half. 

Appalachian shot as poorly as it had all season long, hitting just 34 percent of its field goals opposed to VMI’s 45 percent.  The Mountaineers shot 23 percent from three-point range on 3-13 shooting, including Rufus Leach’s dismal 1-8. 

Tyson Patterson led ASU with 17 points on 5-12 shooting, with Shaun Alexander, Cedrick Holmes and Leach converting on just 9 of 31 field goal attempts.  Appalachian was also outrebounded 44-36 by VMI. 

The loss drops the Mountaineers to 11-2 in the conference with three games remaining against Davidson, Greensboro and Western Carolina. 

Two weeks ago, it appeared as though Appalachian would have the conference title already obtained, but now the ultimate showdown Saturday between the Mountaineers and Wildcats will be the setting for what could be that clinching victory. 

If the Mountaineers pull out what would be the final win over Davidson in Varsity Gym, they will have knocked off the Cats at home for the second straight year to capture the crown. 

Appalachian will be nationally televised in Varsity Gym for the last time when it hosts Davidson at noon on  Saturday. 
 

"Buc"ked off the winning track 
Leslie Hitchcock Editor-in-chief 

Senior day turned out a disappointing loss for the Appalachian State women’s basketball team, as they fell to East Tennessee State University 85-80 in overtime. 

“We had more points in the paint, more points off turnovers, more second chance points and more fast break points,” saidAppalachian State coach Barbie Breedlove. “If you look at the stats, you’d think we’d won.” 

The Lady Apps found themselves down at the half due to the relentless ETSU full court press, which resulted in 17 turnovers for the Lady Mountaineers. “If we get the opportunity to meet them again we will work on handling their full court press,” said Breedlove. “We can’t have 17 turnovers in a half.”  

Applying pressure from the perimeter was 5-foot-4-inch guard Angie Fickes. Fickes finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds.  

“I would also overemphasize closing out to shooters with their hands up. We’ve got 5-10 guards and they’ve got 5-5 guards and our 5-10 guards didn’t have their hands up making those tough shots on those 5-5 guards,” said Breedlove. 

Trailing at halftime 34-26, the Lady Apps rallied late in the second half, making the score 58-52 over the Lady Bucs. ASU went on a 13-4 scoring run with 8:52 left in the game. “The adjustments that we made at halftime, the players came out and made the adjustments,” said Breedlove.  

At the end of regulation, the Lady Bucs tied the Mountaineers 70-70.  

“I thought we should have won at the end of regulation, I thought it should not have gone into overtime,” said Breedlove. 

The tip-off at the beginning of overtime play was the turning point for the Lady Bucs. Winning the tip-off, the Lady Bucs began to steadily pull away from the Lady Apps. 

With 1:12 remaining in  overtime, and again with 29 seconds left, the Lady Apps came within two points of ETSU, but it was to no avail. The Lady Bucs won 85-80 over a disheartened Appalachian State team. 

“We were very quiet today ... when the gym rings with our talk we’re a better defensive team, and those last possessions at the end of regulation were critical,” said Breedlove. 

Southern Conference Player of the Week center Erika Babb finished the game with 16 points and 11 rebounds.  

Coming in big for the Mountaineers was senior Tiffany Chappell’s post play with 17 points and 11 rebounds. 

“I got a lot of touches and I got to shoot the ball more than I usually do,” said Chappell. 

The Lady Apps are looking forward to the possibilty of meeting the Lady Bucs in the Southern Conference Tournament. 

“If we meet them again in the tournament, we will handle their pressure better and we will close out the shooters better,” said Breedlove. 
 

Homerun! Now women can play 
Women's fastpitch softball comes to Appalachian  State 
Compiled from ASU SID 
 

Wilma “Willie” Rucker, a veteran of more than 20 years of softball playing and coaching, has heen named head coach of the Appalachian State University softball program. 

A successful competitor and mentor in the sport of fastpitch softball, the announcement of Rucker’s hiring was made today by Senior Woman Administrator Debbie Richardson. 

“We are very excited to have Willie start our fastpitch softball program,” said Richardson. “She is known as a player’s coach, which will help her as she molds a new team from scratch. We are excited about her expertise and wealth of experience.” 

Rucker brings ample experience as an instructor and coach to the newly created program. She spent last year as head coach of the Carolina Diamonds of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League. 

The Gastonia-based team registered a 32-34 record. 

Prior to her arrival in Gastonia, Rucker spent eight years as head coach at Western Oregon University, twice leading the program to the NAIA regional tournament. 
The Wolves tied a school record in her final season, with 30 wins and 24 losses and went 12-6 in the Cascade Conference (second place). Rucker’s 1996 Western Oregon team set a school record for best winning percentage when they went 30-16 for a .652 winning percentage. 

Hrghly regarded in the softball coaching ranks, Rucker was softball sector coordinator for the Columbus, Ga. venue of the 1996 Olympic Games. 

There, she was responsible for much of the operations at the stadium, where the American team captured the first-ever gold medal in women’s softball. 

She spent the summers of 1997 and 1998 serving as an assistant coach with the Virginia Roadsters. In 1995, she was one of four coaches in the Women’s Professional Fastpitch League. The l6-team exhibition tour of the new league helped introduce women’s fastpitch to much of the Midwest. 

Prior to her arrival in Monmouth, Ore., Rucker developed a national powerhouse at Montclair State in New Jersey, three times leading the Red Hawks to the NCAA Division III World Series. 

In 1989, she was named the Atlantic Region Coach of the Year by the National Softball Coaches Association. Her teams gamered a 211-84 record over her seven seasons at Montclair State. 

Rucker began her coaching career as an assistant from 1979-81 at her alma mater, Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas from which she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1980. 

She then served for two years from 1981-83 as a graduate assistant at Trenton State, earning a master’s degree in 1983. 

A fine player during her undergraduate career, Rucker caught for a 1979 Texas women’s team that won the AIAW World Series, defeating UCLA in the title game. 
She was nominated for the Broderick Award and played professionally for the Edmonton, Alberta Snowbirds that same year, earning Women’s Professional Softball all-star status and Rookie of the Year honors. 

The ASU softball team will begin their season in the spring of 2001, but will play exhibition games in the fall. 

Rucker will start on campus March 20. To reach her before then, e-mail her at ruck940@aol.com. 
 

ASU Boxing Club 
Brian Meadows Club Sports 
Prepare for a knockout.  Club Boxing is a brand-new edition to the Appalachian State University Club Sports Council. 
The vice president of the club, Sean Joll, said the process of joining was long, but worth it. 

Joll and President Aaron Church established a constitution and rules for the club that they presented and had approved by the other members of the council a few weeks ago. 

Other officers for the boxing club include Secretary P.J. Mallory, Treasurer Jason Robertson and Webmaster Nathan Raymer. 

Church had the idea to start the club and initiated it by putting fliers around campus to see if any Appalachian student was interested in being a part of a kickboxing or boxing club. 

This co-ed club has already begun to hold meetings, but it is still looking for a place to call home for practices and competitions. 

"Right now we have been practicing at the Quinn (Center) on the racquetball courts," said Joll.  Church said he expects that the team will remain in the Quinn for the rest of the semester. 

Joll said that the team’s desire for competition goes beyond just competing in amateur leagues. Ultimately, the team hopes to compete against other universities’ clubs. 

Church said that Club Boxing will attend a VMI-hosted competition this weekend to gather information about becoming part of the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA). 

Athletes on the ASU Club Boxing Team will be divided into three weight classes. The lightweight class consists of those weighing in at 140-160 pounds, the middleweight class consists of those weighing 160-180 pounds and 180 pounds and higher determines the heavyweight class. 

Equipment is provided for the boxers. First, they must use hand wraps, which stabilize their wrists. Next, the gloves are placed over the wraps. Also, boxers must wear headgear. Many people question the safety of boxing. "I've never been hurt," said Church, who indicated that worst-case scenarios, which he said are rare, consist of concussions, broken noses or broken jaws. 

To counter many people’s beliefs that boxing is a violent sport, Joll said, "I don't see any Mike Tyson (-type) guys out there (in the NCBA) biting each other’s ears off." 

Joll said that one of his goals is to get a trainer to help the team once a week. Church said that he has something in the 
works, but nothing about a trainer has been finalized. 

There are currently about 16 members on the Club Boxing Team. Both Church and Joll said that the club is open to anyone. Interested? Contact Church at 264-8011, Joll at 265-4176 or at asuboxingclub@aol.com. 
 

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