It was crunch time.
With 19.8 seconds left in regulation, Shayla Fields had a chance to put away the Baylor Bears and send N.C. State to the Sweet 16 by icing a couple of free throws. The sophomore point guard missed both, and the game went into overtime.
Fields kept her cool, and with just 46.9 seconds left in overtime and the shot clock winding down, she redeemed herself by draining a three-pointer that put the Wolfpack ahead for good.
Although State lost its next game to Connecticut, Wolfpack fans will long remember that team for their late-season success following the emotional return of legendary coach Kay Yow. Although she was just a sophomore, Fields was a key component on the veteran team, stepping up into the point guard position and averaging 10.0 points per game.
This season, she will be expected to do even more. Entering the 2007-2008 season, Fields is no longer the lone sophomore on a team with six seniors. In fact, she is a team captain and the only junior on the team with just two upperclassmen. Senior Khadijah Whittington, the Pack’s leading returning scorer, said the poise Fields demonstrated in big moments last year will be needed because the team is so young.
“Hopefully this year, we won’t have to go down to crunch time. She’ll hit those shots earlier in the game,” Whittington said. “She is very calm though. She can keep it under control when you most need it.”
This year’s team consists of six freshmen and five sophomores with Fields and Whittington as the only junior and senior, respectively. According to associate head coach Stephanie Glance, head coach Kay Yow believes this is her youngest team in 33 years of coaching at N.C. State. Fields said the lack of experience on the squad will put added pressure on her this season.
“That makes me feel like I have to step up,” Fields said. “As a captain, you have to be the inspiration and the motivation for the team. It’s a job to be a captain with so much youth on the team.”
Fields’ emergence as a major contributor last year came as a surprise to many. As a freshman, Fields rarely got any playing time. She played in just five games and scored only 3 points all season. Glance said Fields’ transition from a non-factor to the starting point guard is something that seldom happens.
“She was probably the most improved player in the ACC last year,” Glance said. “She played no minutes freshman year- I mean very sparingly. So the transformation from that role to starting point guard in the ACC is huge. That’s not something that a lot of people can accomplish. For Shayla to do that really says a lot about her.”
Fields came to N.C. State as one of the most heralded high school players from North Carolina. She led the state in scoring as a senior averaging 27.8 points per game. The 5-foot-9 Fields was also one of the top rebounders, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game.
She was named Rowan County Player of the year for three straight years, and as a senior, she earned the distinction of being the Charlotte Observer player of the year and Miss NCHSAA Basketball.
This was not someone accustomed to sitting on the bench. Yet, in her first year at State, the 25 minutes of playing time Fields got all season was less than she would usually get in a single game in high school. Fields said her freshman season was the most trying time of her basketball career.
“My freshman year was probably the hardest thing I had to overcome,” she said. “Just sitting on the bench- that was probably just the worst thing I’ve had to go through.”
Fields rose to the challenge. In the off-season before her sophomore campaign, Fields focused on training and fundamentals. Glance said the change in her was visible.
“After her freshman year, I think she did some soul-searching,” Glance said. “It’s a great example of a person who really made up her mind to change. She came in differently. She had a whole different commitment level, and it showed. Her work ethic changed. A lot of people just show up and put their time in. Shayla made great use of her time.”
Her jump from 0.6 to 10.0 points per game between her freshman and sophomore campaigns was the highest of its kind in the ACC. She was third on the team in scoring and led the team from behind the arc.
The coaches are hoping their point guard will be making a similar increase in production this coming season. Glance said they have been trying to encourage Fields to shoot more this season.
Although she led the team in three-point attempts last season, Glance said she believes Fields will often give up an opportunity to score in order to get her teammates involved. With her ability, they would like to reduce that this season.
“We’d like for her to shoot more than she does,” Glance said. “Shayla is a great shooter. When you have a great shooter, it doesn’t matter how many shots they’ve missed, you just always feel like they’re going to hit the next one. We tell Shayla all the time, ‘We don’t care if you’ve missed the last four, shoot it if you’re open.'”
Fields’ teammates echo these sentiments. Whittington said Fields is capable of leading the ACC in scoring this season. Fields said her main concern is to help the team repeat its success from last year.
“Coach Yow was talking about keeping up the drive from last season and not letting anything die down,” Fields said. “Our fans will be looking for the same team that ended last year to come back this year.”
Glance said it’s this mentality that allowed Shayla to be a leader last year as a sophomore among all the upper classmen.
“She has a potential to be a great leader because she is more concerned with the team than herself,” Glance said. “She puts the team’s goals before her own. There is a lot more of the intangibles that Shayla has that separates her. She’s not your average person. There is a lot more to her than just what people see on the floor.”
