Sports
Rio Women’s Hoops Adds Point Guard Baines
< < Back to rio-womens-hoops-adds-point-guard-bainesPoint guard Sharday Baines recently signed with Rio Grande and head coach David Smalley for the 2013-14 season.
Baines comes to Rio Grande from Lake Ridge Academy, a team that finished 22-4 this season. Baines received All-Ohio honorable mention and averaged 11.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game for the Lady Royals.
Baines was selected for the Greater Ohio first team and All-Northeast Ohio League first team this year. She was also chosen for the All-Loraine County second team.
Baines chose Rio Grande over other Division I and II programs including St. Francis University (Loretto, Penn.), Walsh University (North Canton, Ohio), Notre Dame College (South Euclid, Ohio) and Lake Erie College (Painesville, Ohio).
The decision for Baines to continue athletics at the college level is a significant one for Lake Ridge Academy. She is one of only four seniors pursing collegiate level athletics.
Baines will complement sophomore Nichole Mabry at point guard in an effort to increase the number of assists per game while decreasing turnovers. Last season Rio Grande had no player with three or more assists per game and no player with more assists than turnovers on average.
The only downside of Baines is her stature, standing at only 5 feet 5 inches. Rio Grande, however, has the benefit of height elsewhere, with only one returning player shorter than Baines. The RedStorm’s established presence on the post allowed them to grab 38.7 rebounds per game during the 2012-13 season.
Rio Grande is coming off of a rough 8-22 season, going 2-18 in Mid-South Conference play. Increased ball movement from a young point guard could help stimulate the offense.