No small task

At 5 feet 2 inches tall, Venicia Vaughn hardly looks like she belongs on the basketball court for the Stephens College Stars (2-8), much less as the team captain and the starting point guard.

But Vaughn, a senior and the shortest player for the Stars, doesn’t let that stand in her way.

During the Stars’ 86-47 loss to Maryville University on Wednesday night at Silverthorne Arena, Vaughn played hard, many times ending up on the floor in the midst of a scuffle over a loose ball — all with players taller than her.

“I look at it as a challenge,” Vaughn said of her height. “I’ve always been one of the smallest players on the court.”

Vaughn said it’s not always a bad thing for her to be shorter than the player she’s defending.

“You got quick hands,” she said. “You can take it from them when they bring it down.”

She said she’s never been discouraged from playing basketball because of her small stature.

“I’ve gotten teased for being short, but no one’s ever told me I couldn’t play,” she said.

Stephens coach Dane Pavlovich said he saw promise in Vaughn when recruiting her from Meramec Community College with the hope she could provide experience for the rebuilding Stars, who are in their second season of NAIA competition after switching from NCAA Division III. He wants Vaughn and fellow senior Amy Burklund, to be role models for the younger players.

“I’d love for her and Amy both to be more vocal,” Pavlovich said. “Our kids with experience have to step up and provide us with a boost. They have to be that rock for us.”

Vaughn picked Stephens because she wanted to help turn around the team, which won only one game in 2003-04, its last season of NCAA Division III competition.

“I saw that they were a new program, and I didn’t want to stop playing basketball,” Vaughn said. “I wanted to make a name for Stephens, because they’re not really known for athletics.”

Vaughn said she knows she must be a leader for Stephens to start winning games. The Stars, after winning their first two contests, have lost their past eight.

“As a point guard, you have to be a role leader on the floor, tell everybody where to go, where they have to be,” she said.

Besides her spoken instructions, Vaughn said she wants to set a positive example in her play. Every game, she said, she wants to play with intensity and emotion.

“You have to show up every night, physically and emotionally,” she said. “Some of the other girls will see that.”

Vaughn said she and Burklund, also a point guard, have bonded through their shared experience of trying to be team leaders.

“When we first got here last year, we lived in the same dorm and we grew close immediately on and off the court,” Vaughn said. “We have the same responsibilities so we know where each other’s coming from.”

Burklund, who is 5 feet 4 inches tall, said she understands the challenge Vaughn faces against taller defenders, and the two are able to joke about it.

“Me and Amy are about the same height, and when we go against defenders taller than us, she always jokes she’s going to post up against the 6-foot girl,” Vaughn said with a laugh.