ASHLAND – As I toed the ebony line on the hardwood floor, time slowed to a crawl. My heart beat a little more rapidly as I raised the orange ball to eye level, bent my legs slightly, extended my arm and flicked my wrist. The ball silently floated through the air in Ashland University’s Kates Gymnasium, rotating slightly as it made its way toward the awaiting basket.
I watched with breathless anticipation as the ball … fell just short of the rim and smacked on the hardwood floor, echoing painfully throughout the nearly empty arena.
My first 3-point attempt on AU’s homecourt was much less successful than most of the shots my shooting partner – senior Kelsey Peare – took that day or that she has put up during the 2016-2017 season.
Peare is the top 3-point shooter in Division II women’s basketball, knocking down a staggering 52.9 percent of her 153 shots from behind the arc. She is so far ahead of the second-place shooter that she could miss her next 19 3-pointers and still be the top 3-point shooter. But after watching her play about a dozen times this season and seeing her up-close, I think the odds of Kelsey missing her next 19 3-pointers are pretty slim.
I was lucky enough to spend some time shooting with Peare last week one day before the undefeated AU women practiced in preparation for this week’s Division II Elite Eight.
I have to admit I was pretty excited to get to take to the court with Kelsey. It’s not every day you get to shoot with the No. 1 3-point shooter in the country.
She’s a key fixture as the No. 1 seed AU Eagles take on West Texas A&M at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus on Tuesday, March 21.
Just one year ago, few would have guessed that Peare would be sitting here on top of the country’s 3-point chart. But for those who know Peare and have seen what she’s done her whole athletic career, it shouldn’t be a big shock.
Last season, the Eagles were 30-1 heading into the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament on their homecourt. Expectations were high as players and fans remembered how AU had won a national title just three years earlier. After squeaking out a 72-70 win over Ursuline in the first round, Ashland was knocked out of the tourney by Drury, 86-60.
Following the season, head coach Robyn Fralick sat down individually with each player, including Peare, talking about the season and looking forward to the next campaign. One thing Fralick knew was that for the team to do better this season, it needed improved outside shooting.
“She (Peare) took it to heart and came back an incredibly improved shooter,” Fralick said.
How much better? In her first three seasons at AU, Peare made 52-of-154 from behind the arc, a 33.8 percent clip.
Fast forward to this season when the senior captain knocked down 81-of-153. She has taken essentially as many 3-pointers in her senior season as she did her first three years combined. And it’s not because she didn’t play before this year. Peare has been a starter pretty much from the day she walked on campus and is in second place all-time in games played for the Eagles.
So what happened? Peare did what she’s done her whole career. She did what her coach needed her to do, she worked hard to improve, and she made a change to help her team.
“I took a lot of shots last summer,” Peare said.
I have a feeling that is a bit of an understatement. You don’t shoot the way Peare is shooting this season by just shooting a lot of shots. She probably shot a number of shots last summer that would make most of us exhausted just thinking about it.
Going into her senior year at North Canton Hoover, her new coach (her third in four seasons) asked her to take on more of a ball handler/distributer role and less of a scoring role.
Did she complain or pout or ignore her coach? Nope. She practiced her ball handling, embraced her new role and helped lead her team (including current Eagle teammate Julie Worley) to within one game of the state tournament.
All that ball handling practice has paid off as Kelsey currently ranks second in the country in assist-turnover ratio at 3.41.
“I like being able to make a good pass and help my team score,” Peare said.
Kelsey is very excited to play in the Elite Eight on March 21, but when she mentions that she has played her last game in Kates Gymnasium, her omnipresent smile flickers for just a second. Her normal cheerful demeanor is ever-so-briefly replaced by a slight look of sadness as she remembers the 60-plus games she has played on her homecourt.
“It’s great to play here at Kates. The crowd is always so supportive and it’s just an amazing atmosphere, Peare said.
Peare is an all-around athlete, not just a great 3-point shooter. She lettered 10 times in three sports during her high school career, excelling both in basketball and track, winning a state title in the 4 x 800 relay as a freshman. No surprise since her mom ran track at Kent State, her sister ran track and cross country at the University of Kentucky and her younger brother is enrolled to attend Kentucky in the fall and compete in the pole vault.
She led her high school basketball team to the Elite Eight her senior year.
“Those high school experiences definitely prepared me to compete at the collegiate level,” Peare said.
Kelsey excels off the court as much as she does on it. The past two seasons, the psychology major has landed on the GLIAC Academic Excellence Team. She is planning on attending grad school, possibly at Kentucky like her siblings, after finishing her time at Ashland University with the hopes of becoming a school counselor.
Is high school coaching in her future?
“Possibly,” she said with a smile.
If she chooses to follow that path, she has the right combination of talent, patience and leadership qualities, along with those intangibles that make a winner.
During Kelsey’s tenure on the Ashland University women’s basketball team, the Eagles have won 108 out of 128 games, an 84 percent winning clip.
Peare is the only player in AU history with at least 850 points, 125 3-pointers, 300 rebounds, 350 assists and 150 steals. Her current 52.9 percent 3-point percentage would be an AU single season record. She is fourth all-time in AU history for 3-pointers made (133) and second in career 3-point percentage (43.3 percent).
Although she may not get as many headlines or awards as some of her teammates, her numbers and what they mean to her team speak for themselves. They have to do a lot of talking, because she certainly won’t talk about them. As with all her teammates, Kelsey quickly deflects any mention of personal achievement or individual numbers.
“I just went into games shooting my shot and hoping they go in,” Peare said when asked about her gaudy numbers.
Coverage of Ashland University Eagles athletics is produced in partnership with OhioHealth, the official sports medicine provider for Ashland University and dozens of high schools and universities throughout Ohio.
