Thursday, December 10, 2009

MACON, Ga. – We know Mercer’s Courtney Ford as the only women’s basketball player in the A-Sun’s recent history to earn three consecutive Player of the Week awards. The senior guard recorded her second triple double of the season with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists against Belmont, but the A-Sun needed to know what drives the engine behind one of the league’s top seniors on the Mercer court.

When discussing Mercer women’s basketball from last season, senior Courtney Ford tended to fall behind the names of top scorers Dominique Chism and Natasha Doh. However, the 5-foot-8 guard made her mark on the stat sheet, as she stood as the top rebounder on the team with 180 (5.8 per game). Ford still flew under the radar, however, the communications major knew her chance to break out would come in the fall of 2009.

This season on the court, Ford knows how to play her game as the guard has already turned in three-consecutive Atlantic Sun Player of the Week awards. It makes her final season of ball at Mercer mean so much more knowing that this year is her last chance for a championship, and Ford’s in it for the long haul.

“I am definitely focused on a championship, I would really, really love that, because I have, after all my years of basketball I have not come out with any championship ring or anything like that. Every time, there’s always been something in the way,” Ford said. “My high school years there was this really good team that stood in our way my senior year, we couldn’t get around them. Then, both of years at JuCo there’s been a significant injury that kind of limited us in those last few games. So this year I’m hoping for a big win. But, we’re just taking it a day at a time.”

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.