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Modesty aside, Noah adjusts quickly at SCSU (28.12.2005)
nhregister.com
Ask Joe Frager if there’s a player on his Southern Connecticut State women’s basketball team that has exceeded his expectations this season and Babette Noah is his immediate response.
Noah, a 6-foot-1 junior transfer from the Community College of Rhode Island, leads the Owls (8-2) in scoring at 14.5 points a game and rebounding at 8.6. The 24-year-old native of Yaounde, Cameroon, Noah has recorded four double-doubles this season and has been in double-figure points in all but one game.
But ask Noah about her early-season accomplishments and she is extremely modest.
"I can be a lot better," said Noah, who speaks eight languages. "There are a lot of things I’m still getting used to. I’m adjusting to my new team, and I’m getting used to my new school."
Frager, who replaced three starters from last season’s 25-win team, paints a much different picture.
"Any time someone transfers there is always an adjustment period, and that period is even greater from a junior college to a four-year school," Frager said. "And Babette is now playing for her third college coach in three years after going to Lake Region State in North Dakota as a freshman.
"We knew we were getting a very good rebounder, but I didn’t realize how intelligent she is, both on and off the court. Our style is much different from where she’s been and she soaked everything up right away."
While dealing with a new home, a new team and a new school this fall, Noah also found herself reflecting on the loss of her mother, who passed away on Nov. 22, 2004. Noah’s mother died after a battle with cancer.
"She was my best friend," Noah said. "It was hard on me being so far away
See Noah, D4
from home, and I’ve been thinking about her a lot lately."
Noah had her quietest game of the season on that date — getting season lows of eight points, three rebounds and 16 minutes played in the Owls’ 64-54 win over No. 22 Franklin Pierce in Rindge,
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N.H.
<br>Since that time, Noah has been a force. That success is something she credits to the spirit of her mother.
"Absolutely, she’s with me," Noah said. "She helps me."
Noah has also helped herself. When she arrived at Southern, she had stayed away from the weight room because she didn’t want to look too muscular. Frager convinced her that she could add muscle without becoming too bulky.
"He told me my body could handle the muscle well," Noah said. "It’s definitely helped."
Noah doesn’t tower over opponents, but Frager said she is physically stronger than others and has thrived because she knows what is best for her game.
"She stays with her strengths. That’s something that a lot of kids won’t do," Frager said.
Frager is also impressed with Noah’s personality.
"She’s one of the most pleasant persons I’ve ever been around," Frager said. "She’s a person who’s done a lot of traveling in her life. And she’s here to really be in college; not just to play ball. She’s here for the whole experience."
Noah and her five siblings come from a royal family in Cameroon. Her father works for the government there and spends much of his time commuting between France and the African country. She also has a sister who is a track standout in Cameroon.
While French is her native language, Noah is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. She also speaks Russian, where one her three brothers lives, and has three native languages. Noah said Cameroon has more than 200 languages and her father, mother and grandfather all had different dialects.
Noah is an international business major and will have plenty to offer the world when she graduates from Southern. But, for now, she wants to get better, fit in and help her teammates have a memorable season like Frager’s 2004-05 edition, which tied for first on the Northeast-10 Conference at 18-4.
"I think it can be a great year," Noah said. "We have a lot of talent and coach Frager is a great man and great coach"
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