CNU's Schweers: the greatest of all time?

How many points has Chelsie Schweers scored at Christopher Newport University? It's not enough to say that she has broken the school's scoring record, previously held by Karen Barefoot. In fact, she has also scored more than Nancy Lieberman put up at Old Dominion, and more than Dawn Staley and Monica Wright at U.Va. She has even outscored James Madison's shooting star Dawn Evans, who like Schweers is a senior this year. 

Coming into this weekend's games, Schweers has scored 2,543 points at CNU. Based on some LadySwish research, only three players have scored more points while playing at colleges in Virginia - Hampton University's Jackie Dolberry (2,727 points from 1986-89), ODU's Anne Donovan (2,719 points between 1979-83) and her teammate Inge Nissen (2,647 points from 1977-80). 

CNU has four regular season games left. If the Captains advance to the USA South tourney final, that's three more games. And then, theoretically, 12th-ranked CNU will play in the NCAA Division III tournament. This is important to note, because if Schweers matches her season scoring average for eight more games, she will have scored more points than any player at any college in the state of Virginia.

Here are some thoughts that Schweers, a 5-foot-8 guard from Hickory High School in Chesapeake, shared with LadySwish during an interview this week.

On media attention: "I've gotten used to it. I'd still rather talk about the team than about myself, because I know that without my teammates there wouldn't be 2,000 points and there wouldn't be all of those 3-point shots. They're always there for me, and I always make sure they know how much that matters to me."

On her scoring records: "That's a lot of points. When I was a freshman, Coach Hunter told me that I had the chance to do some really special things here. When someone tells you that, it doesn't mean that you can sit back and let it happen. When someone tells you that, it's a challenge - it's a challenge for you to work that much harder every day, and to play that much harder every game, because you want to be able to accomplish all of those things and not come up short."

On the rest of her senior year: “I wouldn’t say that I’m feeling pressure – it’s more a matter of just knowing that it’s coming to an end. We can’t afford any errors at this point. Last year we were a young team, and going into the tournament, we were doing our best but there was also a sense that if we came up short, there was a whole ’nother season ahead. This year, I know it’s my last year. I take that as a daily reminder to not let up,even if I’m having a bad day or if I don’t feel like practicing. I know these could be my last few practices, and I just know now that there can’t be a game when I’m not playing 110 percent for 40 minutes. As a senior, you view it differently. It’s not something you can understand as a freshman or a sophomore, and you can’t explain it to them once you’ve become a senior yourself. You don’t understand it until you experience it. This is the time, and you’ve got to take care of it now.”

On what comes next: “I’d like to try to play basketball overseas. I would love to play in the WNBA if I had the chance, but if that doesn’t happen I would like to keep playing for a while overseas. For sure, that would be a big challenge for me. I’ve never been out of the country, and I’m very family-oriented, so in a way it would be nerve-wracking. But I know I want to keep playing. I’ve still got that desire in me, and I’m not ready to stop yet.”

2,000 POINT CLUB

1.  Jackie Dolberry (HU) 2,727

2.  Anne Donovan (ODU) 2,719

3.  Inge Nissen (ODU) 2,647

4.  Chelsie Schweers (CNU) 2,543 (and counting – through games of Feb. 10)

5.  Monica Wright (UVa) 2,540

6.  Nancy Lieberman (ODU) 2,430

7.  Dawn Evans (JMU) 2,464 (and counting – through games of Feb. 10)

8.  Vivian Greene (Norfolk State) 2,386

9. Megan Silva (Randolph Macon) 2,371

10.  Karen Elsner (Richmond) 2,367

11. Kammy Brown (Virginia Union) 2,254

12. Kelly Lyons (ODU) 2,224

13. Tara Carleton (Randolph-Macon) 2,167

14. Missy Hensley (Eastern Mennonite) 2,163

15. Elena Kisselova (Liberty) 2,154

16. Stephanie Howard (Radford) 2,146

17. Liz Weber (Southern Virginia ) 2,144

18. LaTina Bullock (Norfolk State) 2,140

19. Dawn Staley (UVa) 2,135

20. Tamara Young (JMU) 2,121

21. Celeste Hill (ODU) 2,112

22. Tracy Saunders (Norfolk State) 2,084

23. Karen Barefoot (Christopher Newport) 2,073

24. Heather Burge (UVa) 2,058

24. Rene Jones (St. Paul’s) 2,042

25. Patrinda Toney (Radford) 2,020