By JEREMY COWEN
Avalanche-Journal

The disappointment of not being able to move past Purdue in the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA women's basketball tournament is easily evident on Marsha Sharp's face.

Strangely enough, that disappointment is, in one way, a good thing.

As the season progressed, it became evident that the mix of five freshman, one junior-college transfer and a lone senior meshed as well as - or better than - anyone dared hoped. So, although a berth in the regional semifinals of the Tournament would have been heartily accepted by any member of the Lady Raider program prior to the season, by the time things wound down, the team expected and hoped to accomplish more.

"I was really proud of what we became," said Sharp, who recently returned from the women's Final Four in St. Louis last weekend. "I thought we got a lot better during the year and I thought our freshmen really grew up a lot.

"After we got there (the Sweet Sixteen), we had to think that we were good enough to go a couple of more steps. But, we'll use that as a point of reference to begin things again."

The key to the team's heightened expectations was the growth of the freshmen. With just one senior and three juniors, it was a given that two or more of the newcomers were going to have to make an impact.

By the time the season ended, however, all five had made serious impacts at one time or another. Granbury native Jia Perkins was particularly flashy, emerging as one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 Conference while finishing second on the team in scoring with a 13.6 point per game average.

"I thought Jia, from the very first time we put her on the floor, was an impact player," Sharp said. "I thought she played really steady and made plays for us all year long."

Besides Perkins, freshmen Natalie Ritchie, Jolee Ayers, Dionne Brown and Casey Jackson also exhibited enough talent to whet the appetites of Lady Raider fans looking forward to the next few seasons.

The handful of upperclassmen also held their own. Junior Amber Tarr was brilliant early in the season, before struggling with a knee injury in February and March. Junior Tanisha Ellison provided a much-needed interior presence, while junior Candi White and senior Katrisa O'Neal were solid on the perimeter. Sophomore Plenette Pierson also rebounded from a slow start to lead the team in scoring.

So, with the team only losing one senior in O'Neal - only the second time in Sharp's tenure at Tech that her team will graduate just one player - things bode well for the future.

A future that hopefully doesn't hold many more disappointments - no matter if they are good things or not.

"The spring, summer and fall will be important for us," Sharp said. "We've got some work to do - there are some people that really need to solidify some things and become more complete players.

"I'm real excited about the future and what I think all of them bring to the table. And I think they will work hard to get better."

Jeremy Cowen can be contacted at 766-8736 or jcowen@lubbockonline.com