P-e-r-f-e-c-t: The Lady Saluqis of Southwest TN Community College

Published 02/29/2008

by Jesse McClure

Special to the Tri-State Defender

On the same day that the University of Memphis men’s basketball team lost its first game of the season, the Lady Saluqis of Southwest Tennessee Community College finished their regular season without a blemish.

With 23 wins and no losses, Southwest is now ranked No. 4 in the nation among all women’s community college teams. Postseason regional tournament play is March 4-9 in Morristown. If the Lady Saluqis capture the regional title, they will earn the right to play in the National Junior College tournament the following week in Salina, Kansas.

Southwest is guided by coach Andrea Martre, who is in her twelfth year as the coach of the Lady Saluqis. She is no stranger to winning.

Last season, Southwest finished 26-2, the best record in the college’s history. That team featured junior college All-American Ashley Shields, who scored 65 points in one game during the season. Shields led the nation in scoring and became the first community college player drafted by a WNBA team. She plays for the WNBA Houston Comets.

With Shields gone, Martre said she didn’t know what to expect of her team coming into the season. In community college sports, players stay at most two years and some play only one year. Southwest returned three starters from the 2006-07 team: Keona Brooks, Daumonique Lenhardt, and Starkitsha Luellen.

Also returning were Tiffany Simpson, Ashley Williams and Jessica Parker, with Brittany Butler, who was a redshirt last year, eligible to play.

That mix became even more potent with the addition of two newcomers: Cristal Camper, a native of Rosa Fort, Miss., transferred from Southeastern Illinois College; and former Memphis Northside High School star, Candace Rucker, who transferred from the University of Colorado. Rucker has become the team’s leading scorer and the centerpiece of the offense.

Martre said Shields was so good last year that both her teammates and opponents sometimes just stood around and watched her play. This year, while Rucker has led the team, other players have also played well, she said.

Martre played point guard for the Lady Saluqis from 1986-87. She still holds the college’s record for most steals. She went on to star at Edinboro University in Pennsylvania, where she was recently named one of the university’s all-time great players.

At Southwest, which was then called Shelby State, Martre was coached by Herb Wright, one of the most successful women’s coaches in the history of community colleges. Today when she reflects on her own coaching style, she sees Wright staring back at her.

Wright, she said, taught her about basketball, coaching and life. He also taught her to treat players as individuals and to balance “tough love” with praise.

Martre said her good fortune includes the support of Vertis Sails Jr., the legendary men’s basketball coach and athletic director at Southwest.

Sails, who has won more than 600 games in his 29 years as coach of the men’s teams at Southwest, has passed along timely coach tips.
Noting that the gymnasium bears Sails’ name, Martre laughed and said it is probably a good idea to listen him.

The only real friction between the men’s team and the women’s team at Southwest is the different choices of movies on the bus when the teams travel together on road trips, she said. The men want action and adventure movies; and the women prefer Tyler Perry films.

As regional play approaches, Martre is reminding her team that while going undefeated in the regular season is a noteworthy accomplishment, it is not a guarantee of success in the postseason.