Salem graduate leads Division II in 3-pointers

Boardman's Renee Farina has some advice for young players who want to become accurate 3-point-goal shooters:
"Always practice, keep practicing," said the 5-foot-8 junior for the West Liberty (W Va.) State College women's basketball team. "You can never shoot the ball too much. Shoot over and over again. Get someone to shoot with you."
And, she also suggested, "When you are having a bad shooting game, don't give up. You can miss five [shots] and [then] make five in a row. In a recent game, I was 0-for-6 in first half and I was getting down on myself, then came out in second half and made five in a row. Shoot your way out of it."
Farina, who played at Salem High for coach Steve Stewart, leads NCAA Division II in 3-point shooting for the team in West Liberty, W. Va. She averages just fewer than four per game for West Liberty (17-7, 11-4 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).
Averaging 13.5 points per game, she is almost as accurate in her long shots as she is overall from the field. She's made 95-for-236 (40.3 percent) 3-point goal attempts and is 106-for-262 (40.5 percent) overall.
Several factors involved
How does she do it? Practice, of course, with repetitive shooting. But there also are other factors, like emphasis, focus, expectations, role, opportunity and a lot of help from her teammates.
"I understood that the reason my coach [Lynn Ullom] recruited me was because of my ability to shoot the ball. I knew that he wanted me to shoot the 3 and so I worked hard," Farina said . "I'm more effective now.
"I have more of an opportunity now because my coach is known for [wanting his players] to shoot the 3s. My point guard [Lisa Perry] gets me open."
Farina, the daughter of Tom and Robin Farina who is majoring in elementary education, has about a 3.2 grade-point average. She said that Ullom has a reputation for recruiting players who can shoot the 3.
"Year in and year out, our team is known for the 3, that we will shoot the 3," she said. "Last year, we were No. 1 in the nation in 3-point goals per game as a team."
Farina ranking second with 3.5 per game. She shot 41.5 percent (110-for-265) from 3-point range and averaged 12.3 points.
Wanted to become ace
Farina was further encouraged to become a 3-point sharpshooter when she was a freshman for the Hilltoppers and Stacy Moore was the team's 3-point ace, leading the nation.
"I only played 40 minutes the whole [freshman] year. I worked in the summer, shot a lot [because] that was the role I wanted to play."
Farina gave a lot of credit to her teammates.
"My point guard [Perry] gets me open and my teammates, they set screens for me.
"I have a pretty quick release. I don't need too much time. But it has been proven that if I take my time, I can do better. When I don't think about my shooting, it is 10 times better."
For Farina's career, she has made 203-for-496 shots from 3-point distance for 40.9 percent.
Woods on team
Also with the West Liberty team is Evelyn Woods, a 5-9 sophomore forward from West Branch.
Woods, the daughter of Willard and Megan Woods who is majoring in physical education and health, has played in 26 games and averaged 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds.
While at West Branch, Woods played for coach Charles Campbell and helped the Warriors to the 2004 Division II state championship.
kovach@vindy.com