Weber working to stay on floor

Little Rock Hall’s Katelyn Weber, 6-4, signed a scholarship with Missouri State earlier this month.

Little Rock Hall’s Katelyn Weber, 6-4, signed a scholarship with Missouri State earlier this month.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

— At 6-feet-4, it is difficult not to notice Little Rock Hall center Katelyn Weber.

Sometimes, that works to her disadvantage.

“I have a bad habit,” Weber said. “I tend to bring down my arms too much to where [the referees] see it. I know if I keep my hands straight up, they won’t call it as much.”

Weber’s unpleasant pattern of collecting fouls is something she is working to correct, Hall Coach Selita Farr said.

“We’re a better team if she stays out of foul trouble,” Farr said. “I’m not going to say she gets bad calls, but it makes it obvious when she’s that tall. She’s not going to get away with a lot.”

Weber said she knows she must be able to stay in games longer this season for the Lady Warriors to compete in a tough conference. Defending Class 6A champion Little Rock Parkview, defending Class 5A champion Greenwood and last season’s Class 7A runnerup Fort Smith Northside have all been lumped into the 7A/6ACentral.

She’s a positive force when in the game, averaging 6.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots during the 2011-2012 season, enough to draw the attention of Missouri State Coach Nyla Milleson.

Weber signed with the Lady Bears earlier this month.

“They were originally going to sign three,” said Weber, who also had offers from South Florida, Kansas State, the Naval Academy and Iowa State. “I was one of (Missouri State’s) top choices, but they didn’t think I was going to go there, so they recruited others and they committed. Now they’re signing five.”

Milleson sealed the deal when she was the only coach to show up to see Weber play in a tournament in Texas

“The coach went to their athletic director and she asked if she could still recruit me,” Weber said. “The athletic director said ‘do whatever you have to do.’ The coach said she was still going to recruit me and that was big to me.”

Weber’s development as a player has been helped by Hall senior guard Tyler Scaife, a Rutgers signee who draws the most attention from opponents and scouts. Weber has not had the pressure of having to be a scoring leader playing alongside Scaife, who averaged 25 points and 6 assists per game last season.

“I think she (Scaife’s play) has helped me because it’s allowed me to grow at my own pace and allowed me to have my own space,” Weber said. “It’s helped me realize what I need to improve on to get the attention I’ve needed.”

Hall reached the state quarterfinals in both 2010 and 2011 and advanced to the state semifinals last March. Weber said she is hoping the Lady Warriors can take it a step further in 2013.

“I expect great things from our team,” Weber said. “We have eight seniors, so we should be experienced enough to win and not be nervous. ... We shouldn’t be making simple mistakes like not boxing out or missing layups. I like to say we’re going all the way, but it’s too early to say that.”

Sports, Pages 30 on 11/25/2012