This article originally appeared in the 2013 Orientation Issue of The Arkansas Traveler.
Following a sophomore season in which she broke the UA
single-season assists record, Arkansas’ starting point guard said she knows the
women’s basketball team did not play as well as they could have.
Junior Calli Berna collected 208 assists last season, breaking
Amy Wright’s record of 205, but the Razorbacks lost in the second round of the
Women’s NIT.
“We were a little disappointed with the end of our season,”
Berna said. “We knew what we were capable of, but it never happened for us.”
At Fayetteville High School, she won three conference
championships and one state championship and in her freshman season, Arkansas
went 24-9 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, so this was
Berna’s first experience on a team that struggled during the season.
“It’s a humbling experience and definitely something to learn
from,” Berna said. “It’s cliché, but when you get knocked down, you have to get
back up.”
Despite the Razorbacks’ struggles, they finished with a 20-13
record. Eight of their 13 losses were by six or fewer points and eight were
against top 25 teams.
In order to turn those close losses into victories, they must
work on creating a better team chemistry on the court during the offseason, Berna
said.
“It’s going to take everyone being on the same page,” Berna
said. “We had games where one person is on, but we need to have games where
everyone is on.”
In addition to the assists record, she also led the team in
minutes played, with 35.4 per game. She played just over 87 percent of
Arkansas’ total minutes. The next closest player averaged only 26.9 minutes per
game.
“A lot of people ask, ‘Aren’t you tired?’ But that’s just part
of it,” Berna said. “Getting to play that much is just going to give me more
experience, and ultimately I’ll get better from it.”
With the extra minutes, Berna nearly doubled her scoring. In
just 25.8 minutes per game last season, she averaged 3.6 points per game.
This season, she averaged seven points per game, and she plans
to increase her scoring again next season.
“One thing I need to work on is getting my shot off quicker,”
Berna said. “Overall, I think I need to score a little more. My role is going
to be different because of losing the seniors.”
The Razorbacks will lose their top two leading scorers, Sarah
Watkins and Quistelle Williams, as well as their second leading player in
assists, Erin Gatling, to graduation. Kelsey Hatcher was also a senior.
Those four players accounted for 45.8 percent of the team’s
scoring and 34.4 percent of the team’s rebounds.
“(The seniors) were vital players to our team, so it’ll be hard
to replace them, but I feel like we have players that are willing to step up,”
Berna said.
She said she thinks junior Jhasmin Bowen and sophomore Joey Bailey
could help fill the holes left by last year’s seniors. Bowen and Bailey
averaged 6.8 and 1.1 points per game, respectively.
Arkansas also had the No. 20 recruiting class, according to
ESPN. The class is headlined by the No. 17 recruit in the country, Jessica
Jackson from Jacksonville, Ark.
“We were excited to get Jackson,” Berna said. “She was a very
wanted player.”
Because she is from Fayetteville, Berna has the opportunity to
play in front of family and friends at Bud Walton Arena, like she did at Fayetteville
High just down the road.
“My family has been my rock. They came to every game in high
school and now I’m here,” Berna said. “It’s a great program where my family can
come watch.”
Berna
and the rest of the women’s basketball team begin their season in November.
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