Taking control of the point

Published 10:01 am Sunday, December 12, 2010

Anna Hebrink in action at Bemidji State University - Eric Stromgren/The Bemidji Pioneer

Austin grad Anna Hebrink never had trouble scoring while she was playing at Riverland Community College, but now that she’s in her second season with the Bemidji State women’s basketball team, she’s learning to do some other things on the court.

And she’s accepting it —reluctantly.

After playing off the ball for most of her career, Hebrink, who is a senior at Division II Bemidji State, is taking on the starting point guard role this season for the Beavers.

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“I don’t like it as much (as shooting guard), but it’s good to have the ball in my hands more often because I have more control,” said Hebrink, who had nine points, four rebounds and five assists in a win over Upper Iowa this Saturday.

Since Hebrink has arrived at BSU, they have gotten better. They were 3-24 two years ago and they went 12-15 last year with Hebrink starting and averaging 7 points per contest.

This year they are off to a 4-4 start.

“I’d really like to get to the tournament this year,” she said. “It’s been a slow start, but I just want to end on a good note.”

Since moving on from Austin to Bemidji, Hebrink, who is averaging 5.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.75 assists and 1.25 steals this season, has discovered the difference between junior college ball and Division II ball.

Hebrink averaged 16.7 points per game her senior season with RCC, but she’s learned to impact the game in different ways for the Beavers.

“It’s been exciting, I haven’t scored as much, but every other part of my game has gotten better,” she said.

She’s also learned the different type of commitment it takes at a four-year school.

“The biggest difference has been practice, we work a lot harder in practice and it’s more intense,” she said.

“The games are a little bit faster.”

Hebrink has the second best assist to turnover ratio (1.29) on her team.