DRC NT Notebook..women and mens FB

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UNT notebook

12:32 AM CST on Wednesday, December 29, 2004

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

UNT women work overtime after break

The North Texas women’s basketball team worked overtime after returning from its holiday break.

UNT held two practices Tuesday in an effort to return to form and prepare for Thursday’s game against Dallas-Fort Worth rival Texas-Arlington. The game will be the Mean Green’s first since falling to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 22.

“It’s important because we have the time to practice,” UNT coach Tina Slinker said. “The players are not used to having nothing to do all day, so if you practice just once a lot of times you don’t get a lot out of it.”

UNT is hoping the extra work will pay off in its final two games before the beginning of Sun Belt Conference play. The Mean Green will face Texas A&M on Jan. 2 in their final game before opening conference play with a home game against New Mexico State on Jan. 8.

UNT won three of its last four games and was on track to enter conference play on a high note before falling to TAMCC.

The Mean Green have spent the last few days trying to regain the form they showed before falling to the Islanders on the road.

“It’s definitely important to be playing well heading into conference,” UNT junior point guard Natalie Mireles said. “It would help everyone’s attitude.”

UNT’s players felt they were closer to reaching that goal after spending a little extra time on the court in preparation for their game against UTA.

“Practicing twice a day is something new for the middle of the season,” UNT junior guard Erika Bobo said. “The first session we mainly shot the ball. We felt like we didn’t shoot the ball well against Corpus and are trying to get back into the swing of things.”

Men’s basketball: UNT looks to maintain success in tourneys

The North Texas men’s basketball team will look to remain perfect in tournament action under head coach Johnny Jones this week when the Mean Green play in the Dr Pepper Classic Tournament in Chattanooga, Tenn.

The Mean Green will open play in the tournament at 7 p.m. today with a game against Chattanooga.

UNT won the only regular season tournament it has participated in during Jones’ four-year tenure with the Mean Green.

UNT captured the Brothers Air and Heat Shootout in the 2002-03 season to earn its first regular season tournament title since 1981.

UNT avenging losses early

The UNT men’s basketball team has displayed several signs of improvement this season, including a solid record against teams that beat the Mean Green last season.

UNT has posted a 3-1 record against teams it lost to last season with wins over Lamar, Southern and Southeast Missouri State.

The Mean Green beat all three teams on their home floor this season after losing to all three on the road last year.

UNT solid on home floor

UNT established a solid home court advantage during its first few games of the 2004-05 season.

The Mean Green have posted a 5-1 record at The Super Pit this year for their best mark at home through six games since the 1994-95 season.

UNT is 14-4 at home the last two seasons.

Women’s basketball: Texas game attracts top crowd of Slinker era

UNT set a new attendance high during its game against Texas on Dec. 16.

A total of 2,914 fans watched the fourth-ranked Longhorns beat UNT 79-54 at The Super Pit — the largest crowd for a Mean Green women’s basketball game in coach Tina Slinker’s 16-year tenure with the team.

Player of the week

Freshman Quincy Williams answered the call when the North Texas men’s basketball team needed him the last few weeks.

The Mean Green lost starting center Justin Barnett to a hand injury before their game against Southern on Dec. 16 and were forced to look to their bench for a replacement. Williams proved to be the perfect player to step in.

The 6-8 forward scored a career-high 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds in the Mean Green’s win over Southeast Missouri State.

Williams’ performance against Southeast came on the heels of an eight-point outing against Southern in his first start at UNT.

UNT coach Johnny Jones said he has been impressed with Williams’ performance since he has moved into the starting lineup.

For his production in UNT’s last two games, Williams is the Denton Record-Chronicle’s UNT Player of the Week.