Lindsey Garrison wasted little time etching her name into Bethany women’s basketball lore.
Her nine 3-pointer effort against Penn State New Kensington and 75 triples made this season established new highs in the Bison’s record book.
Recently, the former Wheeling Park High School all-stater was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference’s Rookie of the Year, given annually to the PAC’s most impactful freshman. Not only that, but Garrison earned a first team all-PAC spot.
This week, Garrison added another first to the list, not only for herself, but the Bethany women’s program—she was named the Co-Rookie of the Year for Region 7 by D3Hoops.com.
She also earned third-team Region 7 overall. It’s the first time a Bison women’s player has been recognized regionally since Jenny Place in 2005-06 and Kelly Richardson (03-04) a few seasons’ prior.
But the Rookie of the Year designation? Yep, a first for the women’s program which has seen quite a number of talented players take the court in the previous decades.
“Based on her winning PAC Rookie of the Year, I knew she had a shot, but this is a pretty tough region with a lot of good teams that went a little further than we did,” Bethany head coach Brian Sansom admitted. “It did come as a little of a surprise, but a well-deserved one.”
Well deserved, indeed. Garrison was third in the PAC in scoring with 16.8 points per game. She also led the conference in free throw percentage (87.6 percent), both 3-point percentage (37.7 percent) and total 3-pointers made (75).
She started all but one of the team’s 26 games and averaged third-highest in minutes in the PAC. Not bad for someone whose main worries early were fighting for playing time and battle nerves during the early goings.
“At the beginning of the season I wasn’t too sure what to expect individually,” Garrison said. “I knew that I was going to have to come in and early any of the playing time that I would get, and I was still a little nervous during the games, but as the season went on, I became more confident and comfortable going in to score.”
Garrison admitted adjusted to the collegiate shot clock, a lamentable absence in the high school game depending on which fan you ask, took some time. But the amount of time Garrison put in during the summer, both with her teammates and individually on her own, paid huge dividends.
Yes, She Can Shoot, But …
Garrison was best known during her high school career for being one of the top 3-point shooters in the state. Her stellar rating at the free throw line didn’t hurt, but it was her outside presence that drew the most attention.
Sansom admitted it caught his eye. But the Bison boss came to realize the full array of Garrison’s capabilities as the season wore on.
“It’s tough freshman year because you never know how they will turn out. You know how talented they are when you recruit them, but it has to translate to the college.
“She’s one of the best pure shooters I’ve ever seen, but she’s also able to get to the basket a bit more than in the past and that allowed her to get to the line. She’s a great free throw shooter and her ability to score at all levels is what makes her very dangerous.
“She had a few slumps, but she worked through them because of her great work ethic.”
Garrison is ready to continue putting that work ethic to good use. The Bison made the PAC quarterfinals before losing a tough contest to Washington & Jefferson. The team had its best record and postseason run in a long time.
The Bison returnees want to continue to build upon that momentum and regain their spot atop the conference.
“As a team we are all very excited to see what is possible for us next season,” Garrison said. “We did really well this season, but all of the hard work we are going to put in over the offseason and summer is definitely going to have us ready.
“Heading into next season, I need to work on being able to score in different ways, and getting stronger. I also want to improve my defensive game so I can get more rebounds and steals.”
Garrison is the second-straight Bison women’s player to win PAC Rookie of the Year, follow Makenzee Mason’s effort in 2020-21.
Might the Bison have a 3-peat brewing? Sansom is confident he’s landed some quality players, though until May, he’s unable to discuss them. But what he did note is seeing freshmen come into the program and not only play, but excel, makes it easier to convince soon-to-be graduating seniors that up on the hill at Bethany is a great option for the next stage of their respective careers.
“If you’re good enough as a freshman, you’ll get that opportunity,” Sansom said. “We knew we had talented young ladies and, with us trying to change the guard of the program, we handed them the keys to the bus and let them drive.
“We wanted them to change where the bus is headed and did a good job of it.”
One player hopping on that bus for next season is a former teammate of Garrison in Asia Roby. A skilled guard with the ability to attack the basket, Roby who took off her freshman season of college, is coming to Bethany and will join the Bison team, and her former teammate.
Safe to say, Garrison played a small role in convincing her for Park teammate and friend to join the Bethany program.
Like her coach, Garrison couldn’t officially comment on the matter, but noted she’s looking forward to playing again with her “former teammate” and hinted at her role in making said move come to fruition.
