By Kelvin Ang
Sheila Adams had a lot to feel happy about with her performance during Idaho State's 63-58 win over Northern Colorado on Saturday.
The freshman guard snatched seven rebounds, dished out eight assists and stole four balls. Each represented a career best for her.
None of those statistics captured what Adams most fondly remembered about the game, though. That showed up in the minutes category -- she played all 40.
"It's just so exciting to be on the court," Adams said. "You don't even think about if your legs are hurting, until you get in a timeout and sit, and you're like, 'Oh, I have a cramp.'"
Still, it's no accident that Adams' numbers have spiked in the past few games, right along with how much time she's spent on the court.
Adams spent most of the first few Big Sky games on the bench watching Chelsea Pickering develop into a star. But since Pickering's season-ending knee injury three weeks ago, Adams has worked her way back into Idaho State's starting five and has logged at least 36 minutes in each of the last three games.
With how she's fared during that time, that's a trend that likely won't reverse anytime soon.
"She just keeps getting better," Idaho State coach Seton Sobolewski said. "Whatever her role is on the court, as she improves, people are going to trust her and understand: 'Things are going to be all right. Sheila's here.'"
Adams appeared to hit her stride at the end of the Bengals' nonconference schedule, scoring a career-best 15 points in a loss at Colorado on Dec. 30.
But her minutes plummeted as soon as conference play began. Adams spent a combined 22 minutes on the floor in Idaho State's first three games, including just four in a 70-61 home loss to Portland State in which Pickering erupted for 31 points.
Adams had proven she could hold her own with the ball in her hands. But she wasn't defending like Pickering could. She wasn't rushing over with timely weak-side help. She wasn't fighting through screens.
"She was going through the typical freshman stuff," Sobolewski said. "Playing under me, where I'm emphasizing defense more, was an adjustment. It wasn't something she had practiced or was emphasized to her in her high school career."
Adams realized as much during that stretch. If she wanted to earn more minutes, she would have to work harder on defense than she was accustomed to.
That attitude first manifested itself in practice. But she soon got her chance to showcase that when Pickering suffered a torn ACL in a loss at Montana State on Jan. 17.
The very next game against Northern Arizona, Adams played the final 19:27 and scored eight points -- a noteworthy stat considering she took just one shot in each of the first three Big Sky games and scored no more than three points in any of them.
"You've got to get your confidence back as a shooter," Adams said. "In the early part, I didn't really know my role, and I was almost scared to shoot, you could say."
Adams' conference numbers still pale in comparison with the ones from earlier in the year, but she has accepted that her role isn't to heave up 15 shots a game. She now takes pride in racking up statistics in every column throughout the box score. In the past three games, the 5-foot-5 guard has collected 16 rebounds, nine assists and six steals.
Her most mature moment might have come in Saturday's win over Northern Colorado, when she helped hold the Bears' full-court press at bay after senior point guard Jenna Brown left with four fouls.
Adams knows that's the sort of effort that will ensure she stay on the court as much as she likes.
"When I was getting in games, if you make a mistake, then you get pulled and it's like, 'Ohhh,'" Adams said. "Now, it's more like, I just go out there and play and do my thing."
And to her, there's no better feeling than that.
