 "Photo: George Oehl")
Her coach and teammates call her “Jelly” and rely on her for leadership and clutch shots.
She’s been able to provide leadership and has made some big shots, but not even Angelica Mealing knows exactly how she got the nickname Jelly.
“Honestly, I’ve heard so many different stories, but I’ve just had the nickname since I was a little girl,” Mealing said. “I guess it just stuck with me, and it’s kind of catchy.”
One thing her coach and teammates do know is that Mealing came to UCF with plenty of talent and the ability to play right away and contribute at a high level.
“When she first got here, I thought she was a really good player, and her handles are what stood out to me,” junior guard Chelsie Wiley said. “She can basically do any move that she wants with ease, and she can control the team real well.”
Mealing has played an important role on the UCF women’s basketball team for the past three years now: she’s the point guard and coach on the floor.
“She’s the one that brings us all together and controls the tempo and tells us all where we need to be,” Wiley said.
Head coach Joi Williams, who began her career at UCF the same time Mealing did, calls Mealing the only true point guard on the UCF roster. Williams saw leadership qualities in Mealing from the time she first recruited her.
“I actually recruited her at the previous school I coached at, Murray State,” Williams said.
“It was kind of ironic when I got this job and she was here. We identified her as a floor leader when we recruited her and somebody who really had the potential to be a good floor general and run a team.
“She is certainly a player that I think has grown over the past few years, and I think the sky’s the limit for her.”
Mealing started her basketball career playing high school ball for Avondale High School in Georgia. There, she was named all-state three times and led her team to a 30-3 record and state championship her senior season before being nominated for the McDonald’s All-America team.
“In high school everybody knows you,” Mealing said. “My dream was to carry that on and come to college and to continue to do the same thing and be recognized at one of the highest levels of playing basketball.”
Now, in her third season, Mealing leads the team in assists at 3.8 per game, while playing just more than 22 minutes a game.
But Mealing really burst on to the scene when she made a 3-pointer from near half-court against Marshall her freshman season to send the game into overtime.
Since then, Mealing has had a knack of hitting big shots for the team.
“That’s what we call her, ‘the clutch player,’ because when we need a point, we just give it to Jelly,” Wiley said. “Jelly and I always practice shooting the most half-court shots, and she beats me every time.”
Mealing had another similar big moment in her sophomore campaign when the team played Wake Forest. In part of a 19-point performance, she hit a game-tying 3-pointer to once again save the Knights from a regulation loss and send the game to an extra period.
“The thing about Jelly is that she’s a competitor, she wants to win and she’s a risk-taker,” Williams said. “I think that sometimes people look at that as a bad thing, but in her case, it’s a good thing. She’s willing to try some things and do some things that people normally might not.
“I kind of like that in her. I like her courage and the fact that she’ll fight to win.”
Despite experiencing some big individual moments, Mealing still savors winning the conference championship last year as her greatest moment at UCF.
“The half-court shot is probably No. 2,” Mealing said. “I’d have to say winning the [conference] championship of course is No. 1, but the half-court shot was still pretty cool.”
Repeating as conference champs has always been on the minds of Mealing and her teammates this season, but the Knights have got off to a slow start, posting just a 6-12 record this season.
“My goal is to win another championship or two,” Mealing said. “We have two years left with the same team, so I don’t see why we couldn’t.”
The Knights still have a lot of games left on the schedule, and a late run in the conference tournament is not out of the question. Mealing and her teammates know they have the potential to pull it off.
The Knights have put together back-to-back wins in their past two conference games with wins over Marshall and East Carolina.
Saturday against ECU, Mealing played the entire game and led the way with 14 points, four assists and two steals in the 60-50 win.
Be the first to comment on this article!