By Matt McKinney
After starting all 30 games her freshman year, and 25 last year, Ball State junior point guard Brandy Woody has taken her game another step forward.
Six games into the season, she is leading the Cardinals in assists, steals and is second in points.
Woody is averaging 11.8 points-per-game in 2012, almost double what she’s averaged in her first two seasons.
She also leads the team in minutes played per-game, with 34.7.
Woody has played as high as 38 minutes once this season, tying her career high.
“I don’t realize it until I look at the stat sheet at the end and realize I did play 36 or 38 minutes,” Woody said. “I think it’s just something that with our numbers, that I have to do. I have to play that much.”
Woody said one of the reasons for her breakout season is the fact that her confidence level is up.
“Now that I have confidence in myself, I think the team realizes that,” Woody said. “I think that they need that from me. I don’t know if it’s the way that Coach [Sallee] coaches, but just the confidence I have, playing with him or the confidence my teammates have in me.”
Her coach, Brady Sallee, agreed that her confidence is up.
“I feel like her confidence is a little bit higher,” Sallee said. “You see her making some plays out there that would kind of back that up.”
Woody scored a career-high 17 points on Nov. 13 in a loss to Butler.
Sallee also said she is important to the team’s energy level.
“I think she’s starting to understand the importance that she brings to our team in terms of her effort level,” he said. “We have to play as hard as she plays. Everybody’s got one of those on their team, and she happens to be that for us. We really feed off her energy, her hustle.”
Even Woody’s teammate agrees with Sallee’s commendation.
“She’s played great, she works hard and it’s not only on the court,” sophomore guard Brittany Carter said. “She works hard in everything. It’s not surprising she’s played this well, because she definitely puts in the effort.”
As point guard, Woody also feeds the signals and plays into the rest of the team members.
Sallee said Woody has also stood out on the defensive end.
“She’s the head of our defense,” Sallee said. “She’s the one controlling the ball. When she’s playing that well on that end of the floor, good things happen for us.”
Not only are her points-per-game up, she also has limited her turnovers. Her assist-to-turnover ratio is at 1.1 for the season.
After playing for so long in a game, Woody said she realizes she “has no legs.”
“Usually I’m a little bit sore,” Woody said. “I ice my knees, prop my knees up at the end of the night and do the homework that I have left.”
