By: Brady Pfaadt
You could have heard a pin drop in the locker room after the loss to Drury in the NCAA regional tournament last season. That silence motivates Raven Merriweather.
The only silence Merriweather has heard this season is from doubters. Her presence on the court has been loud. She leads the team in a variety of categories such as minutes played, rebounds, steals and points per game.
“Raven is one of the best guards in not only our conference, but in the nation,” head coach Chancellor Dugan said.
While averaging 34.1 minutes per contest through conference play, Merriweather is posting averages of 19.2 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 46 percent from the field.
Merriweather’s performances in conference play enabled her to become the Great Lakes Valley Conference player of the week on Dec. 11, 2017. During that week’s contests against Wisconsin-Parkside and Kentucky State, she averaged 25.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and three steals.
“I was super excited. I had never gotten an award like that, and I really wanted to receive that award before my time ran out,” Merriweather said.
Even with success Merriweather said she still believes she can get better, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
An alumnae of Sacred Heart Academy of Louisville, Merriweather said there was a noticeable difference in the pace of play between the high school and college levels.
Dugan emphasized Merriweather’s competitiveness and work ethic. “She is very competitive. She is very hard on herself and has a drive inside of her that really pushes and motivates her,” Dugan said.
Merriweather’s teammate and sole senior companion Beth Bowers praised her strong work ethic as well.
“Raven works hard every day whether she is hurting or sick or stressed. That is noticed by other players and makes us only want to work harder,” Bowers said.
Bowers said she also believes Merriweather’s leadership has been vital to the injury-plagued team.
“Since we are missing a lot of players Raven does a good job of encouraging the younger girls on the team and helping them in any way to become more comfortable on the court,” Bowers said.
Said freshman guard Breia Torrens: “Coming in I wasn’t a consistent aggressive offense player, and I didn’t look to score and attack as much. But playing with Raven and against her in practice has really helped me to be more aggressive when I have the ball in my hands.”
Dugan said she has seen Merriweather emerge as a leader.
“Raven came in kind of immature, as most freshmen do. But as time has gone on she has become a leader that is not afraid to say something when it needs to be said,” Dugan said.
On Jan. 18, the Knights avenged last year’s loss. Merriweather led the Knights to victory over the Panthers, who were ranked 6th in the country. She had 28 points. The locker room was anything but silent.