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Wednesday • January 18, 1995
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The Battalion • Page 9
Branch leads the break to A&M s success
Stew Milne/THE Baitalion
Lisa Branch #22 reaches for a long rebound over two Lady Longhorns during
a game Saturday Jan. 14 in G. Rollie White Coliseum.
□ Point guard is the
'total package player.'
By Tom Day
The Battalion
When junior Lisa Branch stormed
onto the Texas A&M basketball scene
two seasons ago, few people expected
her to make a really big splash, not
even Lisa Branch. But the 5-foot 4-
inch point guard surprised many peo
ple that year, including herself.
“I was scared to death coming in
here as a freshman,” Branch said. “I
thought I’d just be a role player.”
Branch turned
out to be a lot
more. With a
keen ability for
distributing the
ball, playing pres
sure defense and
providing instant
offense, Branch
possesses all the
weapons needed
to lead the Aggies.
“She’s the total
package player and
she has given us a great effort on both
ends of the floor,” first-year head coach
Candi Harvey said. “She’s probably the
best at that position that I’ve ever had
the opportunity to coach and I’m real
thankful that I have two years with
her.”
In less than two-and-a-half sea
sons, Branch has already begun
rewriting the A&M record books.
The point guard already owns seven
Lady Aggie records and is just one of
four players in A&M history to reach
the 500-point plateau in a season.
With 461 career assists, Branch is
closing in on the team record of 481
held by Donna Roper.
Although she was apprehensive at
first, Branch has accepted her role as
the team’s leader.
“I had never really been a leader
until I got here,” Branch said. “I was
put in that role, and I’ve learned to
live with it.
“We have a close team. I give my
teammates feedback and they give me
feedback and that makes it easy for
me to be a leader. They respect me so
much, and I respect them for that.”
Last season, Branch was named
Southwest Conference Co-Player of the
Year by the league and SWC Player of
the Year by several newspapers.
Named to the 1994 District VI GTE
Academic All-America first team,
Branch is active in several student or
ganizations and she has volunteered
for numerous charitable events.
Branch credits her success on and
off the court to her parents’ support.
“I do everything to please my par
ents,” Branch said. “They have sup
ported me through everything and I
attribute my success to them.”
As the team’s premiere player,
Branch feels more pressure meeting
personal expectations rather than
those of fans or the media.
“Sometimes, I blame myself for the
losses and it takes my teammates to
tell me I put too much pressure on
myself,” Branch said. “I put more
pressure on myself than anybody
could ever put on me.”
Branch feels the Lady Aggies are
capable of duplicating last season’s
success if the team can learn from
losses rather than worrying about
them.
“We need to stop worrying about
things like missed shots and losses,”
Branch said. “That’s the difference be
tween a number one team in the na
tion and the No. 25 ranked team. They
learn from their losses and go on.”
Harvey said Branch is capable of
leading the Lady Aggies to the top.
“I’ve asked her to do some differ
ent things this year and she’s met me
more than halfway on them,” Harvey
said. “I think she’s ready to lead this
team to a SWC championship.”
Branch said the records and acco
lades she takes in are secondary to
her steady improvement and the
team’s success.
“I just want to get better each
year,” Branch said. “It’s not anything
about being an All-American or MVP
of the conference. I just want to get
better and see how far along we can
go as a team.”
Branch
Rewriting the record books
O Lisa Branch is moving up
the career ladder in career
assists, free throws made, free
throws attempted, points and
steals.
Assists
1. Donna Roper (1985-89) 481
2. Lisa Branch (1992-Present) 447
Free Throws Made
1. Lisa Langston (1982-86) 361
j 2. Lisa Branch (1992-Present) 330
Free Throws Attempted
1. lisa Langston (1982-86) 521
2. Lisa Jordon (1985-89) 440
3. Donna Roper (1985-89) 420
4. Lisa Branch (i992-Present) 412
Points
1. Lisa Langston (1982-86) 1,615
2. Donna Roper (1985-89) 1,513
3. Michell Tatum (1981-85) 1,163
4. Jenni Edgar (1981-85) 1,149
5. Lisa Jordon (1985-89) 1,104
6. Lisa Branch (1992-Present) 1,042
Steals
1. Lisa Langston (1982-86) 236
2. Donna Roper (1985-89) 235
3. Von Bunn (1976-79) 219
4. Jenni Edgar (1981-1985) 187
5. Kelley Sullivan (1978-82) 180
6. Lisa Branch (1992-Present) 173