University of Houston Athletics
Stepping in and stepping up
1/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2004
Joann Overstreet had a simple goal when she signed with the University of Houston in April of 2003, she wanted to make a difference in the Lady Cougar basketball program, any way she could.
Since joining the team the 5-5 point guard has stepped into the starting spot and has helped lead Houston to one of the best starts to a season in school history. The Lady Cougars are ranked in the top 25 in the nation by both the ESPN/USA Today poll (22) and the AP poll (25), and are poised to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
"I wanted to come to UH and make a difference," Overstreet said. "I wanted to play, there is no doubt about that, but if my role had been to sit on the bench and cheer the team on, then that's what I would do. I just want to win, and I will do whatever it takes to do it."
Overstreet has done more than just cheer her team on from the bench; she has provided an offensive spark for the Lady Cougars.
Overstreet finished her sophomore season at Midland College in Midland, Texas, averaging 6.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. In addition to being named "Lady Chap Best Defensive Player," she posted a school-record 166 assists and earned first-team all-conference honors in 2003.
With the Lady Cougars, Overstreet has stepped up her game, becoming a multi threat player for Houston's offense. Through 16 games she is averaging 9.3 points, 4.2 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game.
For many junior college transfers in Division One basketball, it takes a year to adjust to the difference in how the game is played. For Overstreet the game seems to have stayed the same as it has always been.
Overstreet and fellow junior college transfer Sancho Lyttle provide the bulk of the offense for Houston along with All American Chandi Jones. Lyttle and Overstreet combine to score 24.9 points and grab 12.4 rebounds per game while Jones pours in 21 points a game.
"As far as coming in and producing the way I have, I haven't really thought about any of the stats," she said. "I don't think about points, rebounds, assists or any of that stuff, I just go out and play. Whatever the numbers end up like is fine with me.
"I mostly try to concentrate on my defense," she said. "I came into the season with the mindset that I am a defensive player. If I work as hard as I can on the defensive end, then my offense will come from that. The numbers I put up offensively are a direct result of my defense."
The defensive mindset Overstreet has, fits right in with the rest of the Lady Cougars who are one of the top defensive teams in Conference USA and the Country. Houston is second in the conference in scoring defense at (55.9 Per game) and second in the conference and fourth in the country in steals with 13.8 per game.
The success the team has had so far this season comes as no surprise to Overstreet. She doesn't see herself as a major reason why the team is playing better than last year, just that she is a part of what the team is doing together.
"Playing with the girls who were here last year is great. Everyone on the team steps their game up a little bit and it forces you to work harder. With Chandi, Nicole and Amanda we have a good group of seniors and everyone else just works as hard as they can to make the team better.
"I knew when I cam here that there was a lot of talent and that we would have a pretty good team. I didn't know how good we'd be or anything but I knew we were going to have a tough team."
A lot of the success the Lady Cougars have had to this point in the season can be attributed to the way the pieces have fit together since Overstreet, Lyttle and Daphne Andre, all junior college transfers, have fit together with the team. The biggest component to the success is Jones, who lives up to her All American status game in and game out.
Overstreet said playing with Jones is a great experience, but life on the court without the greatest Lady Cougar in history in 2004-05 should still be good.
"Playing with Chandi is great," Overstreet said "I'm going to miss her next year, I'm really going to miss Chandi. The three seniors we have, Chandi Nicole (Oliver) and Amanda (Barksdale) are very important to this team, but, I think with the people we are going to have next year we are still going to have success."
Next year however will be dealt with when it comes, for now the focus is on the season at hand and what this team can accomplish.
"I think this team can go far," Overstreet said. "We have a lot of potential to be even better than we are at his point right now."
