DMN..women say bye-bye to bye..

OldTimer · March 6, 2003

UNT women say bye-bye to bye

Lady Eagles will need four Sun Belt wins to secure NCAA berth

03/06/2003

By TIM MacMAHON / Denton Record-Chronicle

The North Texas women's basketball team finds itself playing in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since joining the league three seasons ago.

UNT had become accustomed to securing a bye by finishing among the top two teams in its division. But power forward Kim Blanton, one of a handful of players back from last season's league runner-up, has a somewhat familiar feeling entering the tournament.

"Last year, nobody wanted to play us because we were expected to be in the championship game," Blanton said. "This year, we may not be chosen to be in the championship game, but nobody still wants to play us."

UNT, the No. 4 seed from the West Division, opens tournament play against East Division fifth seed Arkansas-Little Rock at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at E.A. Diddle Arena on the campus of Western Kentucky.

The Lady Eagles are soaring with confidence after finishing the regular season with a 20-point rout of West Division top seed New Mexico State. With the exception of a home loss to Louisiana-Lafayette last week, UNT played its best basketball of the season in the last month.

The Lady Eagles began the stretch with an overtime loss at East Division champion Western Kentucky, the closest the Lady Toppers came to losing at home during Sun Belt play. South Alabama, which shared the West Division title with New Mexico State, suffered its only conference home loss at the hands of UNT on Feb. 22.

"The top teams know that we're some competition, and it makes them a little nervous," said point guard Erika Bobo, one of eight freshmen on UNT's roster. "We're the team to look out for."

Assuming UNT can defeat Arkansas-Little Rock, which was winless in Sun Belt play, the Lady Eagles will encounter a fresh Western Kentucky team on its home court in the second round Saturday.

"We have to play as fearless as we did the other night [against New Mexico State] and with as much emotion and energy," coach Tina Slinker said. "When we play hard and aggressive, we're so much better."

Slinker believes her team is at its best when the expectations aren't high, which explains UNT's success against the Sun Belt's elite teams.

The Lady Eagles' play of late and the fact that UNT has only one healthy senior has the coach encouraged about the program's future. Advancing past the second round, Slinker said, would be a bonus.

"At the same time," Slinker said, "I would be doing my players a disservice if I didn't go thinking we could win four games."