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[OldTimer]

College Notebook: Ajekwu to return in exhibition game tonight

09:34 AM CST on Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Mia Ajekwu will rejoin what she expects will be a totally different North Texas women’s basketball team tonight — even though the Mean Green’s roster will be virtually unchanged from a season ago.

Ajekwu is one of nine returning players who will be on the roster when the Mean Green play a 7p.m. exhibition game against the Houston Jaguars at the Super Pit. The difference is that most of those players participated in the final 13 games of the season after Ajekwu was lost for the season to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

The complexion of the team changed dramatically in those final few games when UNT developed a host of young players.

The Mean Green will begin the process of reintroducing Ajekwu to the mix tonight.

“We are very excited to get Mia back,” UNT coach Tina Slinker said. “It’s great because depth at the post position hurt us last year.”

That does not figure to be a problem this year.

UNT developed a pair of young post players in Talicia Sanders and Erica Howard while Ajekwu was out of the lineup. Throw in redshirt freshman Amber Jackson, who sat out last year with a knee injury, and the Mean Green have four talented post players who are all at least 6-2.

That depth is one reason the Sun Belt Conference’s coaches picked UNT to win the Sun Belt West Division title.

Ajekwu actually finished as UNT’s second leading scorer with an average of 11.3 points a game last season. Both Sanders and Howard started to come into their own while Ajekwu recovered from shoulder surgery.

Sanders set a UNT freshman record when she averaged 7.2 rebounds a game. Howard became the first Mean Green freshman to post a double-double in back-to-back games and scored a career high 23 points against South Alabama.

Jackson was an all-state selection in Indiana before signing with UNT and is also expected to make an immediate impact.

The Mean Green are hoping their cast of solid players will help them get off to a better start against the Jaguars this season. Houston used a 23-4 run at the beginning of the second half to pull away for an 83-62 win over the Mean Green last year.

Slinker said Houston used its small, quick lineup to create match-up problems for UNT last season and will likely use the same strategy this year.

The Mean Green will be better equipped to handle that challenge this season. UNT returns all but one of its major contributors and with Ajekwu back should have a front line that most teams will have a tough time handling.

UNT will also be more experienced with four seniors and two juniors.

“I am very excited to come back because I didn’t get to carry what I did last year over into conference play,” Ajekwu said. “This year will be exciting because we will have more experience. This is the first time since I have been here that we will have several seniors.”

—Brett Vito

unt Briefs

Football

Dickey: UNT must avoid watching standings

UNT coach Darrell Dickey is trying to keep his players from taking too hard a look at the Sun Belt Conference standings.

In previous years, UNT was in the driver’s seat late in the year while closing in on another perfect run through conference play. That isn’t the case this year.

Louisiana-Monroe sits atop the standings with a 3-0 record. Arkansas State (3-1) and UNT (2-1) are also in the hunt for the league title.

“The thing I try to harp on is that the only thing that you can control is how you play,” Dickey said. “So-and-so can beat so-and-so and this team can beat that team, but none of that matters if we don’t take care of our business. For us it’s almost like tournament time. Our players know that.”

The basketball analogy was just another way for Dickey to tell his team what it already knows. The Mean Green cannot afford another conference loss.

UNT has won the Sun Belt title in each of the last three years with a perfect conference record and finished in a tie for the league title in 2001 with a 5-1 mark.

A loss to Troy prevented the Mean Green from finishing undefeated in the league again, but UNT still has a chance to rally and win the conference title.

Dickey provides positive reinforcement for players

UNT took a few small steps forward in a loss to LSU last week, a fact that coach Darrell Dickey has repeatedly pointed out to his players this week.

Running back Jamario Thomas rushed for a season-high 83 yards, while quarterback Daniel Meager completed a season-high 13 passes. That progress helped the Mean Green put together drives that last eight, 10 and 11 plays against the seventh-ranked Tigers.

“What I saw against LSU is that we made some plays and sustained some drives,” Dickey said. “We didn’t sustain drives against Florida International. I saw that as a step. … I have to help our players keep a positive attitude and see the progress they are making. I am about the only one who will do it. Everything else around here is negative and numbers. That is fine and is part of the business, but right now our kids need some positive reinforcement.”

Warrenlikely to return for game against UL-Lafayette

UNT coach Darrell Dickey said Tuesday that free safety Steve Warren will likely return in time for the Mean Green’s game against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday.

Warren began the season as a quarterback before moving to safety and quickly rising through the Mean Green’s depth chart. The former Burleson standout started against Louisiana Tech on Oct. 22, but missed UNT’s game against LSU with a concussion.

“We hope Steve will be back and have every indication that he will be after a full week of practice,” Dickey said. “He’s become an excellent football player for us and we need him out there.”

Warren has split time with sophomore Roderick Cotton, who has battled injury problems throughout the season. Warren has 11 tackles in five games, while Cotton has 35 in seven games.

Volleyball

UNT heads into critical matches off of big win

The Mean Green will head into their final four matches of the regular season on a roll after knocking off rival Denver on Sunday.

UNT came into the match with only a slim chance of winning the Sun Belt Conference’s West Division. Those chances are still remote, but they improved with a three-game sweep of the Pioneers.

Denver came into the match with a two-game lead in the standings, an edge that shrunk to a single game with the Mean Green’s surprising win. The Pioneers swept UNT earlier in the year.

“We ended the week with perhaps our biggest win of the year against Denver,” UNT coach Cassie Headrick said. “We came back and did some damage after they beat us earlier in the year.”

Junior outside hitter Tara Hooser posted 14 kills to lead three UNT players who finished in double figures in perhaps the Mean Green’s most complete performance of the season. Sophomore outside hitters Katy Prokof and Brooke Engel both added 10 kills.

Sophomore setter Ashley Bass finished with 45 assists, while sophomore libero Jessica Hulsebosch posted 23 digs.

UNT’s last four matches of the regular season are against Sun Belt West Division teams. The Mean Green have posted a 3-1 record against teams from that section of the league. Both UNT and Denver will face Troy, South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette to end the regular season.

UNT will play all three opponents at home and take on ULL in its regular season finale on the road. Denver has just three games left and will play just one more road match at ULL.

“I would like to think that anything can happen,” Headrick said. “But Denver plays well at home, so it seems unlikely that we will be able to pass them.”

Hulsebosch on verge of setting digs record

Jessica Hulsebosch is on the verge of breaking UNT’s single-season record for digs heading into the Mean Green’s final four games of the regular season.

The sophomore libero has 444 digs on the year and needs just 18 more to pass Jill Ruskowski, the current single-season leader.

Hulsebosch has quickly established herself as one of the top defensive players in the history of UNT volleyball in just two seasons at the school. The former Klein standout finished with 416 digs as a freshman, the fifth highest total in team history.

UNT reschedules UL-Lafayette match

UNT and Louisiana-Lafayette will face off on Nov. 8 in a match that was postponed from Sept. 23 because of the potential effects of Hurricane Rita.

Moving the match to later in the season will give the Mean Green three home dates in the span of five days, beginning Friday when Troy comes to Denton for a 7 p.m. match. The Mean Green will then take on South Alabama at 1 p.m. on Sunday before closing out the regular season with a 7 p.m. match against UL-Lafayette.

Cross country

Reep happy with outing in Sun Belt Conference meet

UNT came within a few points of winning the Sun Belt Conference title last weekend, highlighting what coach Toby Reep described as a solid performance for the Mean Green.

UNT placed six runners in the top 20 and finished in a tie with South Alabama for second place in the men’s team standings with 75 points. Western Ken-tucky won the men’s team title with 67 points.

The UNT women finished fourth.

“We had a great race on the guys side,” Reep said. “I am so proud of them, even though I am a little disappointed we didn’t win. We went from fifth to second in a year, which is a good indication that we are on our way up.”

Junior Frank Ngeno earned all-conference honors by finishing eighth in a time of 25:45 on the eight-kilometer course. Jill Brennan earned her second consecutive all-conference honor when she finished sixth in a time of 18:16 on a five-kilometer course.

Brennan’s time was the sixth-best in school history. Cassie Storms finished 18th in 18:45, the ninth-best time in school history. Alex Sherwin also claimed a spot in the UNT record book when she finished 19th in a time of 18:50 that ranks 11th in school history.

UNT will continue its season at the NCAA South Central Regional on Nov. 12.

“We expect to have our best meet of the season at regionals,” Reep said. “We still have not peaked yet.”

—Brett Vito

Player of the week

Frank Ngeno brought led the North Texas cross country team to the verge of winning the Sun Belt Conference title over the weekend during the league’s championship race.

The junior from Kapsabet, Kenya, finished eighth overall in the men’s eight-kilometer race in a time of 25:45.

Ngeno’s performance helped the Mean Green finish in a tie for second in the men’s team standings with South Alabama. Western Kentucky took the overall men’s team title with 67 points.

UNT finished fifth in the men’s team race just one year ago.

Ngeno not only helped the Mean Green improve their finish as a team, he also claimed a spot in the UNT record book with his performance. Ngeno’s time was the 15th best in Mean Green history for an eight-kilometer race.

For his performance in the conference meet, Ngeno is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

—Brett Vito