When the West Virginia State women's basketball team has needed a big shot or someone to step up in a key situation, it knows it has been able to turn to Shae Hines.
That was the case on Thursday night as the Yellow Jackets were able to rally late with the junior point guard knocking down a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left to tie the game. Then she was able to pressure a UVa-Wise guard enough to set up teammate Amiea Summers for a steal and game-winning layup. It was the type of late-game heroics that West Virginia State has become accustomed to getting from Hines this season and something that has helped the team improve into one of the better offensive teams in the Mountain East Conference.
"She makes my job a lot easier, she's made me look good a lot this year," West Virginia State coach Charles Marshall said of Hines. "She's such a smart player and she wants to be great. Shae just has that drive to be the one to make a big play when we need it, and it's something that comes from the amount of time she puts into her game."
Hines will look to lead WVSU in a similar way at 2 p.m. Saturday as the Yellow Jackets (13-14, 11-10 Mountain East Conference) finish the regular season against Charleston (10-17, 9-12) at the Walker Convocation Center.
In order to do that, West Virginia State will try to execute the same plan its used all season to find success - getting up and down the floor quickly, trying to play an up-tempo game and put a lot of points on the board. In Marshall's first season at the helm of the program since coming over from MEC foe Glenville State, West Virginia State is averaging nearly 15 points more per game than it did a year ago.
After scoring more than 80 points in just eight games a year ago, the Yellow Jackets have doubled that number in the 2016-17 season - going 11-5 in games where they eclipse that mark - and Hines has been a crucial piece to that success.
"It's been a little different being in the point guard role in our new offense. It's kind of forced me to step into more of a leadership role, which I think has been good for me," Hines said. "Coach expects a lot from me, so I kind of put that pressure on myself to step up and do what I need to do to help us win every time we play."
Hines is fifth in the MEC in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game, and is also second in the league in assists and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio.
It's been quite a jump in production from when she averaged 11 points last year and made just 38 percent of her shots - a number that has jumped up to 46.7 percent this season.
"It took me awhile to get used to how we're playing this year, especially after last year when we really would try to slow down the game," Hines said. "It's been a lot of fun. I love playing that way and I think we've been a lot better as a team because of it."
Heading into Saturday's game with UC, West Virginia State is tied for sixth place in the conference - with a win potentially putting the Yellow Jackets in position for a bye in next week's MEC tournament at the Charleston Civic Center. WVSU is tied for that spot with Shepherd, which visits Fairmont State on Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets haven't won a conference tournament game since 2014, but Marshall and Hines are both confident that if this team plays the way it is capable, State has what it takes to possibly make a run. The coach acknowledges that Hines could be a big piece of that success.
"For us to be successful, and I still think we have a good shot at making a run, she has to play at a high level because she's a really important player for us," Marshall said. "We're asking her to do more than she's ever been asked to do, but she's accepted it. When she plays well we play well, and honestly I don't think she's scratched the surface of her ability quite yet."
The women's game will kick off the day at 2 p.m. before the UC-State men's game at 4 p.m.
The Charleston men (14-13, 8-13 MEC) will try snapping a four-game losing streak before heading into the MEC tournament, while West Virginia State (6-21, 3-17) will be playing its final game of the season and looking to send players like senior Terrance Jenkins, who is averaging 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, out on a positive note after a tough season.
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.