Bailey Rucker (second from left on front row) with her Centre College teammates that will play Illinois Wesleyan in the NCAA Tournament Friday. (Larry Vaught Photo)
It was quite a week for Centre College senior Bailey Rucker as she was named the Southern Athletic Association Athlete of the Year, helped her team win the SAA Tournament to reach the Division III NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012 and was picked as the tourney MVP.
Centre (21-7) will play at No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan (26-1) Friday at 8:30 p.m. in the NCAA opening round after Transylvania plays Trine at 6 p.m. The winners will play Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
Will Rucker take time to appreciate finally being in postseason play or will she be as intense and energized as she’s ever been Friday night?
“Oh, I’m a competitor. I don’t think my intensity is only going to grow, especially now,” said Rucker. “We have the chance to do something really, really special. We’re in the tournament for the first time since 2012.
“We just want to keep going into the history books. So I’m never going to lay off. Coach (Wendie Austin) knows this, too.”
Rucker averages 16.6 points per game — third best in the SAA — and was 17th in 3-pointers per game and 19th in assists to earn SAA Athlete of the Year and SAA first-team honors. In a win over Hendrix, Rucker had a career-high of 29 points — the most points scored in a single game by any player in the conference this season.
She’s an efficient scorer because she’s third in free throw percentage (.817) and fourth in the SAA in field goal percentage (.456).
“I hope my intensity pushes everybody else on our team to go hard,” Rucker said. “I’m not ready to be done. Any game now could be my last game, and I’m going to make sure that it’s not because of a lack of intensity by me or my team.”
