Courtesy of Stephen Gude Jr.
Olivia Antilla came into the 2015-2016 season with the personal goal of building on what she accomplished last season. Antilla helped lead the rebuilding 2014-15 Lady Rattlers basketball squad in her first year as a transfer.
This year the Rattlers are looking to win a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship and with the help of Antilla, they could do just that.
“I know I didn't give the numbers I should have last year so I knew that this year I had to step up in every category, not just points,” Antilla said.
Antilla, the 6-foot senior guard/forward from Minneapolis, Minn., came to FAMU from Anoka Ramsey Community College, where she was an NCAA All-American. Antilla is currently averaging 33.9 minutes per game, 15.8 points per game, and 4.7 rebounds per game.
According to Antilla’s coach, Ledawn Gibson, she explained that it’s how smart Antilla plays that make her such a dominating player.
“Her basketball IQ is very high, she knows the game inside out so she’s a very intelligent player,” Gibson said. “She can listen and she can explain. She can break down a game to the younger players because she has so much experience and such a high basketball IQ.
Senior guard, Khadejra Young from Fort Lauderdale, has become a close teammate of Antilla and spoke highly of what makes her a great teammate.
“Being Olivia’s teammate is cool, she helps me get through situations when I'm a little hard on myself on the court,” Young said. “She has a loud mouth but that positively helps the team by being a good communicator.”
Antilla knows she holds a key role on the team and a lot of her teammates look to her for good leadership.
“As a leader of the team I lead by communication and direct people on where to go and what is happening on the floor. I stay calm; I have to keep my head in the game in all aspects because I know I am a leader.”
With this being Antilla’s last collegiate season thoughts sometimes linger in her head. She said that she sometimes think if she will continue to play after graduating, but right now she remains focused on the present.
“Continuing basketball after college is a possibility and has been something I’ve looked into,” she said. “I'm just focused on finishing my college career and college in general before I jump into anything. I want to stay focused on right now, I have plans but I just want to finish strong.”
Olivia’s goals for the remainder of the season are to help her team win a MEAC championship.
“I feel like I still have a lot to accomplish this year and with one regular season game left and then post season, it’s all possible.”