Women’s Basketball: Ashley Benjamin bolsters UL women

Eric Narcisse, Daily Advertiser, Dec. 10, 2012

When head women’s basket­ball coach Garry Brodhead ac­cepted the job at UL and assis­tant coach Sallie Guillory made the decision to join him, the duo quickly identified the type of players they needed to recruit into the program if they were going to build it the way they saw fit.

One of the first players they pursued and deemed a must sign was Ashley Benjamin, an undersized post-player from Tyler Junior College, who had developed a reputation as a shutdown defender and relent­less rebounder on every level she’s competed on.

 

Through seven games this season, Benjamin has lived up to the billing as a defensive and rebounding star, evident by her 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. She is second on the team in rebounding and third in steals.

 

“When we signed Ashley, we knew she was a very good de­fensive player and rebounder,” Brodhead said. “We told her that we wanted her to come into our program, defend the best player on the floor and rebound. She has definite­ly done that for us and so much more.” Guillory has been equally pleased by what Benjamin has given them on the defensive side of the ball.

 

“Ashley is relentless on defense and on the boards,” Guillory said. “She doesn’t know how to be any other way. She is passionate about what she does defensively and on the boards. Every time she touches the floor, she gives you all-out effort on every play. I’ve never seen her not go all out on any play. She never lets up.” Benjamin, who will lead the Ragin’ Cajuns against Jackson State at 7 p.m. to­day at Earl K. Long Gym, credits her mindset and competitive nature as the keys to her success defen­sively.

 

“I’m really competi­tive and I just cannot let someone beat me,” Benja­min said. “My mind frame every time I take the floor is that I can guard anyone. I have a lot of pride in my defense, so it’s something I’ve worked really hard at.” It’s that mindset and determination according to Guillory that separates Benjamin from most play­ers .

 

“She has it,” Guillory said. “Whatever ‘it’ is, Ash­ley definitely has it. When it comes to rebounding, you either can rebound or you can’t. She can rebound. She just doesn’t quit or give up on a play and she believes that every ball is hers.” The 5-9 junior forward of Houston, Texas, who was an All-Conference honorable mention selec­tion while at Tyler where she led the team in re­bounding last year, was a three-time All-District first team selection in high school at North Shore and was named the District Most Valuable Player her senior season.

“Throughout Ashley’s entire career at junior col­lege and in high school, she has been a lockdown defensive player and re­bounder,” Brodhead said. “She is just such a hard worker and she plays hard. We knew she would be a great fit for our system.” What they didn’t know is Benjamin would be a consistent contributor of­fensively.

 

Benjamin, a criminal justice major, has proven to be as much of an asset to the Cajuns offensively as she’s been defensively.

 

“I’ve been working hard to improve my offen­sive game,” said Benjamin, who scored a season-high 19 points in the season opener against the South­ern Jaguars. “When I first began playing basketball, rebounding was the first thing I was able to do well because I could jump. But I want to become a better all-around player and do whatever I can to help our team win.” Benjamin, who has scored double-figures in four of the Cajuns’ seven games, is the team’s fourth leading scorer with 10.7 points per game and leads the Sun Belt Conference in field goal percentage at 55 percent.

 

“We really didn’t plan on having her score the basketball like she has been,” Guillory said. “That is not the role we imagined for her when we brought her here. We didn’t change anything in our offense to help her to be able to score; she just goes out and gets her points every night on her own. She does a great job of staying within her range and she doesn’t force anything. Ashley does a great job of putting herself in position to be successful.” Brodhead is ecstatic to see Benjamin contribut­ing on the offensive side of the court, especially since it hasn’t taken away from her ability to defend and rebound.

 

“We still aren’t featur­ing her in our offense,” Brodhead said. “We’re not designing plays to get her the basketball or saying that we are going to just pound it in to her in the post. Ashley is scoring off of offensive rebounds and I always tell players if you want to score then go grab an offensive rebound. That’s exactly what she does. She just goes get the basketball.” Benjamin’s ability to finish around the basket has been instrumental in her success offensively, something Brodhead and Guillory find to be a great attribute.

 

“Ashley finishes and a lot of people can’t finish,” Brodhead said. “It’s im­portant when you get an offensive rebound near the basket or the guards give you a pass around the bas­ket that you are able to fin­ish and Ashley does that. She’s a finisher.” Guillory believes Ben­jamin has the ability, work ethic and determination to establish herself as one of the best forwards in the conference.

 

“Ashley can run, jump, rebound, defend and the effort she gives on ev­ery possession is second to none,” Guillory said. “Once she understands how to use her jump stop and the right angles on the backboard, I don’t see why she can’t average 15 to 20 points every game. As long as she continues to work hard, the sky is the limit for Ashley.”

Follow assistant sports editor Eric Narcisse on Twitter@tdanarcisse.