LR’s Hill achieves rare feat
Shakyla Hill’s assist in the closing seconds of Grambling State’s victory over Alabama State on Wednesday night gave the junior guard the fourth quadrupledouble ever in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.
Hill, who played at Little Rock Hall and helped lead the Lady Warriors to a state championship as a sophomore, found Monisha Neal for a three-pointer that wrapped up the Tigers’ 93-71 victory over the Hornets and accounted for Hill’s 10th assist — to go with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 steals.
“She is very unselfish,” Grambling State Coach Freddie Murray said, according to the school’s website. “She had to do a lot more last year, because we didn’t have a lot of pieces. Now she is surrounded by players who feed off what she gives us. To get a quadruple-double is just a testament to the hard work she puts in.”
Hill did most of her damage in the second half on Wednesday when the Tigers (5-8, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference), who led 40-33 at halftime, outscored the Hornets (2-11, 0-2) 22-13 in the third quarter to take a 62-46 lead. She had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 6 steals in the second half alone.
Coincidentally, the last player before Hill to get a quadrupledouble also has Arkansas ties. Sonja Tate of Arkansas State had 29 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals in an 86-59 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Jan. 27, 1993.
The only NCAA Division I men’s basketball player to post a quadruple-double was TennesseeMartin’s Lester Hudson on Nov. 13, 2007. The last NBA player to do it was San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson on Feb. 17, 1994, one of four ever in league history.
On Sunday, Oregon sophomore Sabrina Ionescu picked up her NCAA-record eighth career triple-double. There have been 18 triple-doubles this season, four by Ionescu.
Get over it!
The Buffalo Bills face the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in the team’s first playoff appearance in 18 seasons, ending the longest playoff drought among the four major North American sports leagues.
Buffalo News columnist Rod Watson is already over the euphoria surrounding the end of the streak.
“Does the phrase ‘Get a life!’ mean anything here?” Watson wrote.
“I could put up with it Sunday night. After all, the combination of the stunning end to the [Cincinnati] Bengals-[Baltimore] Ravens game and the Bills’ ‘must win’ win was a nice conversation starter.
“I wasn’t even averse to rehashing it on Monday, since it was New Year’s Day and nothing else much was happening.
“But all week long? I’m sick of it already.
“We can’t possibly be so psychologically pathetic that having a football team make the playoffs for the first time in 18 seasons becomes the most important thing in town.
“Or are we?
“It’s enough to cause mixed emotions in the non-hysterical part of the population. Sure, a wild-card win over the Jaguars on Sunday would be nice.
“On the other hand, I don’t think I could put up with another week of 24/7 hype. It’s already gotten on my last nerve.
“Go (away) Bills!”