DRCwomen on verge of sBC West title

OldTimer · February 25, 2006

Women's basketball: Women on verge of SBC West title

Ajekwu knocks down 23 points to lead Mean Green

09:08 AM CST on Friday, February 24, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

TROY, Ala. — One more win. That’s all left standing between North Texas and the Sun Belt Conference West Division title.

UNT came into the season picked to win the championship and put itself on course to fulfill those expectations on Thursday with a 73-66 win over Troy at Trojan Arena. UNT (18-8) improved to 8-6 in conference play and moved into a tie with South Alabama for the division lead with their win over the Trojans (9-16, 3-11). The Lady Jaguars lost to Denver in triple overtime on Thursday to fall to 8-6 in league play.

UNT can win the title outright with a win at USA on Saturday.

“It’s an exciting position to be in,” UNT head coach Tina Slinker said. “We will see where we are as a team. This will be a playoff atmosphere with the division title on the line.”

UNT came into the night having lost its last two games, a slump it broke out of with one of its better performances in the last few weeks. The Mean Green jumped out to a double-digit lead before eight minutes were gone in the first half and maintained a comfortable edge most of the night.

Junior forward Mia Ajekwu dominated inside and tied her career high with 23 points to go along with seven rebounds. Erika Bobo added 14 points on a milestone night for the senior guard while sophomore center Erica Howard chipped in 11 points.

Bobo became just the 10th player in school history to score 1,000 career points when she hit a 16-foot jumper with 4:36 left in the first half. By the end of the night, Bobo had pushed her career total to 1,007 points and claimed another milestone with her solid all-around play during her four-year career.

Bobo became the only player in UNT history to post 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 200 steals.

“It’s very exciting,” Bobo said of the record. “I was happy to do it on a night when we played well.”

UNT dominated the early stages of the first half and led by as many as 17 points before settling for a 39-30 lead at the break.

“We want to make sure that we play well the whole game,” Ajekwu said. “To do that, it’s important that we start well.”

UNT also started the second half well and dealt Troy a blow by opening the period on a 10-4 run. The Mean Green maintained a double-digit lead until Amy Lewis hit a 3-point shot to cut Troy’s deficit to 71-64 with 36 seconds left, after the game was already decided.

Laura Lee Holman led the Trojans with 16 points, while Lewis added 15. But Troy’s starting backcourt didn’t have nearly enough firepower to match UNT’s frontcourt players, who dominated the game.

UNT finished with a 46-27 rebounding advantage, which helped send the Mean Green into their game against USA on a roll.

“We are ready to play this game,” Slinker said. “There were a few things that happened in this game that showed us that we can’t let up and need to keep our intensity the whole way. That will help us.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com

North Texas 73, Troy 66

UNT (18-8, 8-6) — Sanders 1-2 2-2 4, Ajekwu 8-19 7-10 23, Bobo 6-10 2-4 14, Mireles 0-0 2-2 2, Williams 3-6 0-0 8, Howard 5-10 1-2 11, Lee 2-6 2-2 8, S. Jackson 1-1 0-0 3, Hall 0-0 0-0 0, Wali 0-0 0-0 0, Quattrocchi 0-0 0-0 0, A. Jackson 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 26-60 16-22 73.

TROY (9-16, 3-11) — Jones 3-7 3-4 9, Lewis 5-13 2-2 15, Muse 1-2 1-2 3, Holman 5-13 4-4 16, Morrissy 3-5 1-1 9, Roper 0-0 0-0 0, Farr 0-0 0-0 0, Hairston 4-11 2-2 12, Realph 0-3 2-2 2. Totals 21-54 15-17 66.

Halftime – UNT 39-30. 3-point goals – UNT 5-7 (Williams 2-3, Lee 2-3, S. Jackson 1-1), Troy 9-23 (Lewis 3-6, Muse 0-1, Holman 2-7, Morrissy 2-3, Hairston 2-3, Realph 0-3). Fouled out – Muse. Rebounds – UNT 46 (Sanders, Ajekwu 7), Troy 27 (Jones, Lewis, Hairston 5). Assists – UNT 13 (Lee, S. Jackson 3), Troy 13 (Lewis, Holman, Roper 3). Total fouls – UNT 20, Troy 21. A – 386.

untbowler · February 25, 2006

cross our fingers that Tina has the team ready the last few times they have had the chance to take the initiative and lead the West outright they have laid some major eggs.