Santos is the Right Fit
by Matt Zimmerman, Long Beach Press-Telegram
May 9, 2006 Defend, rebound, pass, fix the shorts, move into position, catch, drive, get fouled, tug on the shorts, shoot free throws. That's Fernanda Santos' routine just about every time up and down the court. While using her 6-foot-2 frame to close passing lanes on defense and to be a matchup problem on offense, the Long Beach State senior guard also fights against her uniform, often adjusting the legs of her long shorts.
It's a cultural thing, as Santos, a native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, is used to playing in a uniform that is, well, a little tighter. Once, Santos wore such a uniform to an open gym, and she says people jokingly asked her if she was a track athlete or a swimmer.
"To me, they are heavier, and when I am running, I feel like they hold me," Santos said of the American-style longer shorts. "I don't want to show my legs, I don't think I have the best legs in the world, but I think it helps me to run. That's the only reason why I do it."
Her dislike of the standard uniform notwithstanding, Santos has found a comfortable place in the starting lineup of the 18-9 49ers, earning second team All-Big West honors. She helped the 49ers to a 10-4 conference record and a co-championship, their first Big West crown in 15 years.
LBSU has a bye to the semifinals of the conference tournament, and will play Friday afternoon at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center.
"It's not easy to be winning," Santos said last month. "It's easier to reach the top, but to stay on the top is not as easy. Now, everybody is looking for us. Every detail counts, we have to be watching ourselves even more because we need to be keeping it up."
After LBSU began the conference season 7-0, injuries and the road caused them to stumble in the second half. At co-champion UC Santa Barbara, Santos was added to the injury report when her left knee flared up, but finished the game with the knee wrapped up, playing all 40 minutes and getting open for a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer in a three-point loss.
"She's never played in a situation where it's your last chance," 49er coach Mary Hegarty said of Santos staying in the lineup of the already-depleted 49ers. "Now, she's starting to get why it's a big deal and such an emotional thing too. I think games are so much more important to her, she's playing through the pain, trying to make the most of the last few games."
Santos is not afraid of the outside shot, but prefers to drive the lane, where her size confounds the usually shorter guards defending her. She began the nonconference season in the starting lineup at power forward, but was moved to guard a few games in.
"In recruiting, I've talked to the coaches, I've said I want another Fernanda," Hegarty said. "Someone with that length and guard ability."
This is only Santos' second season at LBSU, as she played her first two years of eligibility at Tennessee's Lee University and Grayson Community College in Texas. She had been recruited by the 49ers out of high school before beginning her college career at Lee, where some of the rules and restrictions placed on students by the Christian school rankled Santos.
After a year at Grayson, she found LBSU to her liking, with an opportunity to be part of history. An opportunity she seized.
"I didn't want to go to school to be a number," said Santos, who transferred to LBSU in December 2003 and redshirted the rest of that season. "I knew that Long Beach State was trying to reach the championship over UCSB for a long time, so I thought being on the team … would be very good for the school and for me." |
