DMN NT women count on SBC turnaround

OldTimer · January 5, 2004

UNT women's team counts on turnaround

12:08 AM CST on Monday, January 5, 2004

By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle

DENTON – North Texas women's basketball coach Tina Slinker didn't make life easy for her team in the opening stages of the season.

Slinker took the Lady Eagles to Indiana and Texas A&M. She scheduled games against nationally ranked Texas and TCU.

The idea was to prepare the Lady Eagles for the rigors of Sun Belt Conference play. Now Slinker will get a chance to find out how the plan pans out.

UNT will travel to New Mexico State for its first conference game Saturday. The Lady Eagles prepared with a tough nonconference campaign that included a seven-game losing streak.

"We feel like we have a chance to do well in conference play," Slinker said. "Our schedule could end up paying off for us."

The Lady Eagles will need to be at their best to compete in a well-balanced league. UNT was one of six teams that received first-place votes in the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll.

New Mexico State was picked to win the Sun Belt's West Division, while Western Kentucky was picked to win the East Division.

UNT received one first-place vote in the West Division poll and was picked third.

"I feel like all the teams in the league are getting a lot stronger," Middle Tennessee coach Stephany Smith said. "A lot of teams that were not expected to do well have done well. I think it is absolutely a wide-open race."

South Alabama (11-1) is in first place in the West Division, which features two other teams with six wins in New Mexico State and Denver. Middle Tennessee leads the East Division with a 9-2 record.

UNT appeared as if it would rank among the league's leaders before slipping into an extended slump. The Lady Eagles won three of their first four games, including a victory over defending Missouri Valley Conference champion Indiana State, before their losing streak began.

UNT lost to Texas and TCU during the skid.

The Lady Eagles pulled out of their tailspin just in time for Sun Belt play by beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 59-43, Friday night.

Four UNT players scored in double-figures, including three who will enter Sun Belt play averaging at least 10 points. Junior guard Jill Medlock is averaging 11.7 points a game. Senior forward Kim Blanton is posting 11.3, while sophomore forward Jamie Armstrong is averaging 10.1.

"We are all looking to conference," Armstrong said. "We played a tough schedule early on. We feel like we can turn our season around."

E-mail bvito@dentonrc.com

SUN BELT PREVIEW

The North Texas women's basketball team will open Sun Belt Conference play at New Mexico State on Jan. 10. The following is a look at each of the league's teams:

West Division Rec. Comment

South Alabama 11-1 Defense allows a league-low avg. 56.2 points

Denver 6-4 Win over Kansas an early lift

New Mexico State 6-5 Lost three straight games early

La.-Lafayette 4-5 Anna Petrakova averages 11.2 rebounds, 17.8 points

New Orleans 4-5 Lost five of last six games

North Texas 4-8 Three players averaging double figures

East Division Rec. Comment

Middle Tennessee 9-2 Patrice Holmes averages 18.5 poimts, 5.18 assists

Arkansas State 8-2 Opened season with seven straight wins

Ark.-Little Rock 6-6 Last in league in rebounding margin

Florida International 6-7 Milena Tomova is averaging 17.8 points