DRC..NT women BB playing up..

OldTimer · March 8, 2003

Women's basketball: Playing up

Lady Eagles like to play to level of competition, face top-seeded Western Kentucky

03/08/2003

By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — North Texas survived the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament despite a sluggish effort against Arkansas-Little Rock, the league’s worst team.

That won’t work against regular-season champion Western Kentucky, which hosts the Lady Eagles at 1:30 a.m. Saturday in Diddle Arena in the tournament quarterfinals.

Western Kentucky (19-8) enters the tournament having won its last 11 games, the eighth-longest active winning streak in the nation. Nine of those 11 wins were by double figures.

"It’s a great opportunity," UNT coach Tina Slinker said. "We really, truly have nothing to lose. With as well as they’ve been playing and the tournament at their place, they have a lot of pressure on them."

The Lady Toppers aren’t likely to overlook UNT (12-15), however. The Lady Eagles eliminated Western Kentucky with a 32-point rout in the tournament semifinals last season and nearly pulled off a shocker at Diddle Arena on Feb. 8.

UNT pushed the Lady Toppers to the limit, suffering an 89-85 overtime loss. It was Western Kentucky’s closest call at home during conference play.

The Lady Eagles had a chance to win at the buzzer in regulation, but shooting guard Heather Trout didn’t get a call when she drew contact after driving to the basket. UNT had a four-point lead with 1:41 left in the extra stanza, but Western Kentucky shooting guard Leslie Logsdon scored the final eight points of the game.

Logsdon, the league’s leading scorer (17.2 ppg), scored a career-high 29 points in that game. Power forward Shala Reese (16.4 ppg, 9.0 rpg) had a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds.

UNT post Vilma Grismanauskaite scored a career-high 22 points for the Lady Eagles. Point guard Erika Bobo added a then career-high 15 points.

"That game gives a lot of confidence to us," said Bobo, who eclipsed her career high with 17 points in the first round. "We know that we can play with them. I think everybody knows we have a chance to beat them. I think they know we can beat them."

The premier matchup Saturday will be at power forward, where UNT’s Kim Blanton will challenge Reese. Blanton (12.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg), the Lady Eagles’ lone All-Sun Belt selection, was dominated by Arkansas-Little Rock’s Eplunus Brooks in the first round.

History does not favor UNT. Western Kentucky, which had a first-round bye, has played at least two games in 19 of its 20 Sun Belt Tournament appearances. The Lady Toppers have advanced to the finals each of the previous six times they served as tournament hosts.

But the Lady Eagles lately have had a tendency to play to the talent level of their opponent.

"This," Blanton said, "will be our biggest challenge."

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

UNTFan23 · March 8, 2003

I just wish I could say with confidence that I think we will mach up well against the Lady Toppers. The Lady Eagles have had such an up and down season. Hopefully the last 2 wins have given them some confidence.