Finding Her Moxie

Moxie. Definitions for the word can vary widely. Merriam-Webster defines it as courage and determination. Dictionary.com uses the words vigor, verve and pep as synonyms. But in Norman, Okla., the best way to define moxie is Gioya Carter.

A year ago, though, it was a completely different story. A year ago, Carter was struggling to find her fit in the college game.

david little

Gioya Carter hails from Midwest City, Okla., a short 30-minute drive from Norman. She graduated from Carl Albert High School where she was a standout player, racking up accolades such as class 5A first-team All-State, State All-Tournament Team and The Oklahoman's Big All-City Player of the Year. Carter averaged 18.3 points per game and 7.4 rebounds as a high-school senior.

Carter was the definition of a high-school all-star and signed a national letter of intent to play basketball for the Sooners. But Carter soon learned that the college game was a tough transition, even for the best of high school players.

“At first the college game was kind of intimidating,” Carter said. “In high school I was faster and I was bigger than everybody else. I was more athletic. Coming here, you get on the court and you're at the bottom of the food chain again, and it's kind of hard to find where you fit in. My teammates were great, but that whole transition from high school to college is tough to go through, and it overwhelmed me at times.”

Carter played valuable minutes in her rookie season, starting 18 of 33 games and averaging seven points per game as a starter, but she knew she was holding back.

“I was starting as a freshman, and you have upperclassman who are coming off the bench and you think you have to be perfect in order to keep that spot,” Carter explained. “With me trying to be so perfect I played it safe and that was obviously a bad thing. When I played it safe I would have a driving lane I wouldn't take or I wouldn't shoot, or when I should have shot it then I passed it. That's when the mistakes would come.”

With a season of experience under her belt, Carter was ready to find her game again. Before the 2014-15 season, the sophomore decided on goals she would work toward to better her game individually and to better her team.

Gioya Carter

Throughout the Sooners' non-conference schedule, Carter was inconsistent and found her way in and out of the starting lineup, but after a breakout performance vs. Yale where she recorded 17 points and six rebounds, she had just the confidence she needed to begin OU's conference slate. The result? A 71-60 OU win over then No. 22-ranked West Virginia where Carter logged a career-high 24 points and eight rebounds.

“I just thought I was playing really loose,” Carter said. “I know what to do. I've been playing this game since I was in the third grade, so I know what to do and I know what to look for. It was just a matter of letting myself do it and then the results came.”

Since then, Carter has been phenomenal, averaging nearly 18 points per game and dishing 14 assists in OU's conference games. She had a career-high nine rebounds versus Texas Tech in Norman and was named the Big 12 Player of the Week early in January. (142 points over 8 games)

OU head coach Sherri Coale is finally seeing the tenacious Carter she recruited out of Midwest City, and she couldn't be happier.

“She really just carried over the momentum that she created for herself in the Yale game,” Coale explained. “It's all about tempo for her, playing at the right speed, slowing down enough to ascertain what the defense is doing and then attack it. She is a tremendous athlete so once she sees them take a position and she can put them in a cage, often times in her young career she has gone too fast to be able to do that. She is just in a really good flow right now and playing with a lot of poise, a lot of confidence and defensively keeping herself on the floor.”

But Coale isn't the only one noticing the rise of Carter. Coaches around the Big 12 are prepping their teams to contain the 5-9 guard who can tear apart teams with her multi-faceted game.

She plays hard and with energy. Any player who plays with energy and plays with heart is going to have some big games.
West Virginia Head Coach Mike Carey

“She's a talent. She's an extreme talent that can score in a lot of different ways,” OSU head coach Jim Littell said. “She can take you off the dribble all the way to the hole. She's probably got the best intermediate game in the Big 12 right now. I'd say she's probably, right now from what I've seen on tape and what we've seen so far, I'd rank her as one of the top two or three players in the Big 12 right now.”

West Virginia head coach Mike Carey echoed Littell's comments.

“She plays hard and with energy,” Carey said. “Any player who plays with energy and plays with heart is going to have some big games.”

But Carter isn't looking for special attention. She is just happy she found her game again, and she hopes the momentum she built can carry on through the Sooners season.

“I'm harder on myself than anyone else is on me,” Carter said. “I've kind of said to myself that I'm not going to be perfect all the time, and when I'm not perfect it's not the end of the world. I just wanted to play with the kind of moxie I had when I was in high school. I think I'm finally finding that again.”

Players Mentioned

Gioya Carter

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University of Oklahoma Athletics