Shaw women go about their work quietly

Over the years, Jacques Curtis and the Shaw women's basketball team have forged a reputation as a boisterous and confident group.

The Bears have won five Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament championships since 2002, including a title last season.

Along the way, their brash coach and loquacious players have made considerable noise in collecting their hardware.

This season, however, the Bears have been surprisingly subdued - some might even say quiet - as they count victories and prepare to make a run at back-to-back championships when the league tournament starts Tuesday in Charlotte.

"It's not about showboating," Shaw senior point guard Allyssa Lane said. "Its about getting the job done."

For much of the season, the Bears (19-6, 14-1) have put together a winning formula.

Tonight they face St. Augustine's (13-12, 3-6) in their final regular-season conference game, having secured the best record in the league and the top spot in the Southern Division standings.

The Bears, who are ranked sixth in the Atlantic Region basketball poll, are averaging 80.9 points per game in conference play.

Yet there's something different about the style the team employees this season.

Curtis and his squad have abandoned the breakneck, guard-dominant, 3-point shooting style that resulted in multiple championships.

For the most part, the Bears feed their capable post players and rebounded for put-backs. They own a 13.9 rebounding margin in conference play.

"Now we're learning that's where our game is," Shaw senior forward Victoria Tanner said. "That's where a lot of the points are coming from - in the paint, so inside is where it's at."

Shaw has an imposing front court with 6-foot-1 senior forward Kyria Buford, 6-1 junior forward Aslea Williams and 6-1 center Crystal Harris.

Buford was named the conference's defensive player of the year, collecting 145 defensive rebounds, 45 blocks and 45 steals.

Williams leads the bunch with 14.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, though this season has been a collective effort, especially on the glass where they lead the league with 47.4 rebounds per game.

"I always tell them about my other teams," Curtis said. "My other teams were more like me because they were a little bit cocky, a little bit more swag. This group doesn't have that cocky-swag. Whether they are going to get it or not, I don't know."

Is that OK?

"That's fine," he said, "I've got enough of that for everybody."