[ATrain]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaaw/news;_ylt ... &type=lgns

Liberty's triplets turning heads on the court

By HANK KURZ Jr.<, AP Sports Writer
January 26, 2007

LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) -- Megan Frazee jumped to intercept the inbounds pass, landed and turned upcourt. After just a few steps, Liberty's guard lost control of the ball, and then her footing, sprawling onto the hardwood as Winthrop regained possession.

In a flash, one pass became two and the Lady Eagles' Tiffany Rodd was coasting in for an easy layup, a plan that worked until she slammed hard into ... Megan Frazee?

Nope. The 6-foot-3 Megan was still picking herself up off the floor, but sister Moriah Frazee, also 6-3, was there to make sure the mistake didn't turn into easy points.

And over on Liberty's bench, 6-2 Molly Frazee was applauding her sisters.

As the only basketball-playing triplets in Division I, the Frazees and the evangelical school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell are proving a perfect match.

The relationship began in a chance encounter Falwell describes as "providence."

It was in the summer before their junior years in high school when the home-schooled triplets traveled to Virginia Beach to play in an Amateur Athletic Union tournament. Their father was their coach, and Liberty women's coach Carey Green was there, too, looking for Christian athletes who could keep his program on the rise.

It didn't take long for him to become intrigued by the skills of the girls from Xenia, Ohio -- the ones who seemed to be in three places at the same time.

"I was in the right gym at the right time," Green said, smiling.

He was also coaching at the right school.

In spite of scholarship offers from top-25 programs, with some schools wanting one or two of the girls and others wanting all three, the Frazees closed the process early when they determined they wanted to be together at a Christian school.

"Some people don't understand the bond that you have, but it's a lot of fun, as much as you can, to spend time with them because, obviously, once college is through, we'll most likely be going our separate ways," Megan said. "It's just neat and since we had the opportunity to continue to play together, we wanted to take that."

Green had plenty of scholarships available to give to the Frazees, and Liberty won out over Cedarville, a Christian NAIA school near their home in Ohio where their father, Jim, had worked and long ago arranged for them to go for free.

"We just thought this was where God wanted us to be," Moriah said.

The whole family moved to Lynchburg, where brother Zeb is a junior at Liberty, mother Tammy teaches at a Christian school and Jim works in the university housing office and gets to continue to watch the girls play after coaching them for many years.

The triplets arrived last season, when Liberty still was buzzing after the previous year's Lady Flames won their ninth consecutive Big South championship and, for the first time, pulled two major shockers in the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament.

That team was led by 6-7 Katie Feenstra and guard Kristal Tharpe, both of whom had graduated, but the newcomer Frazees showed quickly the success could continue.

Megan started 14 games and averaged 18.5 points and 9.8 rebounds before a torn knee ligament ended her season. Moriah stared 27 of 31 games, averaging 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, and Molly was second on the team in 3-point shooting, converting 13 of 25 attempts, or 52 percent (Megan made 19 of 36, 52.8 percent).

After winning a 10th consecutive Big South tournament, the Lady Flames couldn't repeat their magic in the NCAA tournament, losing to DePaul in the opening round.

But the Frazees were only freshmen, and with Megan as strong as ever this year and the rest of the team back, too, Falwell said they are being counted on for plenty.

"They've got a big mantle on their shoulders," he said, because of the string of Big South titles and tournament berths. "They are fully expected to do that three more years while they're here, which is unfair, but that's what the fans are expecting."

Liberty did little to justify that expectation during a stretch of seven losses in eight games earlier this year, but that came only after Megan put on perhaps the most dominating performance in school history to bring about one of its biggest victories.

On Nov. 20 at Virginia's glistening new John Paul Jones Arena, she scored 31 of her 37 points after halftime as the Lady Flames rallied to shock the Cavaliers 75-71.

Megan also grabbed 15 rebounds that night, and Molly added 11 points.

The display left Cavaliers senior Siedah Williams comparing the performance of the oldest Frazee -- by 2 minutes -- with Duke's Alana Beard scoring 41 of her team's 60 points at Virginia.

"Once you are in the zone, it's hard to get out of it," Williams said.

Green laughs now recalling the game, especially when he thinks of Molly pulling up a few times during the barrage and making both of her shots from 3-point range.

"I had to think, they're looking at Frazees, and here's Molly popping a 3 out there, and they don't know if that's Molly or that's Megan," he said. "It was probably frustrating for them at that point in time, especially the way Megan was playing."

Heading into a showdown Saturday with Radford, which at 3-0 was the only team still unbeaten in conference play, the Lady Flames were 11-8 and 3-1 in the Big South.

Megan led the team with averages of 16.2 points and 7.5 rebounds, Moriah was second in both categories (7.9 and 4.7) and Molly was third in both (7.8 and 4.2).

Off the court, they said Molly is the most studious, although all three boast 3.9 grade-point averages, and that they haven't dressed alike since their grandmother stopping making them matching clothes. They don't room together, but do share clothes.

"If one thing fits one of us, it usually fits all of us," Molly said.

Molly and Moriah are considered identical, and both plan to pursue nursing careers when their playing days are over. Megan, the fraternal triplet, is the most likely to pursue pro basketball after college, and would like to coach and teach.

For now, though, they are enjoying these years playing together, years that make it seem likely the Lady Flames will continue their history of success.

And the school chancellor sitting in the front row is enjoying it, too.

They came along, Falwell said, "just in time."

[ATrain]

And I actually found this on the CAAZone boards. Tsk tsk tsk, we are slacking

[thesportscritic]

good find atrain