DRC-Women BB need to attack zone defense

OldTimer · January 16, 2003

Lady Eagles need to get into ‘zone’ after latest loss

01/16/2003

By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer

North Texas coach Tina Slinker doesn’t have to see opposing scouting reports to sense how her team will be defended.

After the Lady Eagles’ woeful offensive effort in last week’s loss to Denver, Slinker anticipates seeing a steady diet of zone defenses.

Why wouldn’t a team follow the Pioneers’ lead? Denver held the Lady Eagles to 42 points — the program’s lowest scoring output since 1996 — and 24 percent shooting. UNT also committed 29 turnovers to prevent it from starting Sun Belt play 2-0.

The Lady Eagles (6-7, 1-1) will look to rediscover its offense on this week’s road trip, which begins with Thursday’s 7 p.m. game at Arkansas-Little Rock.

"They’ve got to do the little things we ask of them," Slinker said of her team. "Things like ball movement and moving without the ball. We’ve got to find a solution to shooting percentage. Maybe that means spending more time in here [the gym]."

Prior to the pitiful performance against Denver, UNT appeared to have been coming together as a team. The Lady Eagles won consecutive games against quality teams (Florida International and Weber State) by relying heavily on pounding the ball inside to their posts.

"We’ve got to re-establish where our strengths are versus different types of defenses," Slinker said. "The guards are saying that they thought all we wanted to do was go inside, because that’s what we’ve been doing against man. Well, that’s not necessarily true against the zone."

Slinker said the Lady Eagles need a perimeter scoring threat to step up to make teams think twice about sitting back in zones. She hopes junior shooting guard Heather Trout accepts the challenge.

Though UNT won’t overlook anyone after its defeat against Denver, a win over Arkansas-Little Rock looks to be a proverbial layup for the Lady Eagles. The Trojans (3-10, 0-3) have lost 45 of their last 47 games in Sun Belt play.

TIM MACMAHON can be reached at 940-566-6870.