OP graduate Hamner learning from Evans

FAIRFAX — That first step is quicker than anything Courtney Hamner has ever witnessed on a basketball court. Even back-pedaling, James Madison University guard Dawn Evans moves at an expeditious pace.
Hamner is quick. She earned the team’s hustle award along with the nickname “Dash” for good reason. But Evans has an acceleration that can only be appreciated up close and the former Osbourn Park High School star understands that better than anyone because she spends every practice session matched up against the Naismith Award candidate.
“Dawn is a phenomenal player so going up against her every day makes me a better player,” Hamner said following the Dukes’ 90-65 victory at George Mason on Sunday. “I never have a day off. She sets the bar higher for everyone. Sometimes in a game when another girl is guarding me it’s so much easier than practice.”
And therein lies the true benefit of being teammates with Evans.
Since arriving on campus together a year ago, the sophomore guards have become one of the most electrifying backcourt combinations in the Colonial Athletic Association — a double dose of quickness that creates matchup nightmares for opposing teams.
Evans is a dilemma all her own, a heavenly gift of a point guard who is second in the nation in scoring at 25.0 point per game. And Hamner is a full-speed-ahead accomplice who is emerging as a 3-point shooter who can’t be ignored.
On Sunday, she scored 15 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, and had three assists. Playing in front of a huge hometown fan base, she came within two points of equaling the career-high 17 points she scored against Bucknell last month and within one of the 16 she scored against nationally-ranked Maryland.
“She hits open shots,” George Mason University head coach Jeri Porter said. “Courtney is obviously a kid who is a good shooter. I think in games you have to make split second decisions about whom you are going to leave open and who you are not and JMU presents a problem. We didn’t want to leave Dawn at any point so that meant that we were going to find ourselves sliding off those other guards and Courtney did an excellent job of knocking down the open looks that she got.”
Now it’s becoming increasingly important to have someone on Hamner as well. After setting a school record for most games played by a freshman (34) on last season’s Top-25 team, she is averaging more than 8.0 points per game this year
“A lot of it has to do with confidence. Coming into college is such a huge adjustment. I’m still adjusting,” said Hamner, a former AAU national champion and 1,000-point career scorer at OP who was twice named to the All-Northwest Region team.
“It was awesome being a freshman on a team that is ranked,” Hamner said. “It gave us a lot of experience and with that experience this year we might be even better. We’re a young team so I think we started the season out a little rough, but we’re coming into our own and I think we’re ready for conference play.”