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Show I .. 'BIRD SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL• SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• FRIDAY, DECEMBERS, 1997 n$1 Lady 'Birds beat Eagles By CHAD LAMB JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR The Lady 'Birds lit up their MidContinent Conference debut with a convincing 86-64 win over Oral Roberts University last night. The Golden Eagles, looking for their first win of the season, lost for the fifthstraight time as they were unable to handle the 'Bird defense. Early on it looked as if the Eagles were going to cruise to an easy victory, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first minutes of the game. "It was a defensive problem," said Head Coach Joe Hillock. "Offensively we were fine, we just didn't take care of the ball." After a three-point bucket by Chelsey Wom ell, the Lady ' Birds began to eat away at the Eagle lead, eventuaJly wearing the ORU defense down to pull ahead 23-21 after another Womell trey with with 12:38 to play in the first half. The teams t raded buckets the remainder of the half, with SU clinging to a 44-38 lead at halftime. In the second half the 'Birds broke away from a slim six-point lead to go on a 7-2 run to pull ahead by 15 points due to three steals that led to breakaway scores. SU would hold that lead the remainder of the game with superb shooting and a big defensive stance that held the Eagles to just 27 percent shooting in the second half. . "We've believed all along we could do this," said Hillock about the team's first win in the Mid-Con. The ladies who were picked by the coaches to finish sixth this season went into the game against Oral Roberts to prove they were ready to play in the league. "This was a big win for us," said Myndee Larsen. "We really needed to make a statement to the Mid-Con. Tonight we took a step in the right direction." At times throughout the second half the 'Birds seemed unstoppable, scoring each time they took the basketball down court. "We didn' t come out ready to play," Larsen said about the way the ladies opened up the game. "In the second half we settled down and moved our feet better. " Defensively SU shut down the Eagles allowing just eight shots to be made from the field in the half. The 'Birds also controlled the boards by a 35-28 advantage-Mandi Shaheen led the 'Birds pulling down eight rebounds. Four 'Birds finished in double figures, as Sunny Myers led all scorers with 22 and Larsen put in 20. Jessica Littlefield and Mandi Shaheen both finished with 12. The team shot 53 percent from the field and hit nine-of-16 three-point shots. Samantha Rhoten was the top scorer for the Eagles, as she was four-forfour from the three-point line in scoring 19 points. The win gives the 'Birds a 1-0 conference record heading into the holidays, an d is currently one of the top team s in the Mid-Con. "It was so important to establish ourselves in tfiis .., game," remarked Littlefield. ~ The ladies now have a week off before !:j their next game against Idaho State on g · Dec. 3. Over the Christmas break the ~ team will face Weber State, Western State and The Masters College in the Centrum. SU's next conference game is Mandi Shaheen (13) drives through the Oral Roberts defen se while th e Eagles' on Jan . 5 against Buffalo in Buffalo, NY. Staci Replogle watches her score. Shaheen scored 12 points. Men shoot for first win in Mid-Con tomorrow Tim Gill will be the one to shut down on the Eagles offense as he is curren tly averaging 19.5 points per game and is an all-America candidate. JOURNAL SPO RTS WRITER "Tim is a real hard-worker, an exceptional person, and a real good basketball player, and that is an outstanding The men's basketball squad will be looking to grab its combination," said Head Coach Bill Evans. Oral Roberts will be another tough test for the 'Birds first conference win of the season as it hosts Oral Roberts Saturday in the Centrum beginning at 7:35 pm. adding to a schedule that is considered one of the most difficult in the country now. The 'Birds are currently 0-1 in conference play and will "We've played a very difficult schedule so far and Oral be facing one of the hottest teams in the Mid-Con right Roberts is every bit as good as anybody we've played now. Oral Roberts enters its Mid-Con debut with a 4-2 record after losing to Oklahoma State Tuesday 73-66. except maybe Utah," said Head Coach Bill Evans. While SU is heading into just its second conference game "They've got some great players and Coach (Barry) Hinson of the year, the 'Birds are already 1-5 on the season and hasn't let them miss a beat. Their two losses were both have lost four straight games on the road. close ones on the road at big-time program s so we know what kind of team they have. Saturday's game will be the fifth meeting between the A loss would put the ' Birds two games behind in two schools, with the Golden Eagles taking all five . conference play-a position they don't want to be in victories. The 'Birds have come fairly close to beating the Eagles in the first three contests, but have have been when regular conference games begin in January. outscored 151 to 107 by ORU in the last two games. "I know our team will be excited to play on Saturday and I fully expect them to give the kind of effort they gave Junior forward Tarvish Felton currently leads the 'Birds at UTEP, Evans continued. in points-per-game with an average of 9.6 and is the top As far as who will start for SU against Oral Roberts is rebounder with seven boards each game. True freshman :;! still up in the air, as the 'Birds have used six different Jeff Monaco is coming off his best game of the season after making four three-pointers against UTEP. Monaco led all ~ starting combinations in the first six games of the season . is Chad Bey, who started the first five games of the season, scorers with 19 points, the most points by a single 'Bird in one game this season. ~ did not play at UTEP and is probable for Saturday's game. ~ Bey suffered a deep thigh bruise in the game against Senior forward, John Williams is currently SU's top shooter from the field, making 15 baskets for 25 attempts ~Wyoming Nov. 29. for a percentage of 60. u After tonight's contest, the 'Birds will continue their ~ homestand over the christmas break against San Diego on Oral Roberts comes into tomorrow's game shooting 48 u............._.....,.._.__......___ __, Q.Dec. 13, Montana Dec. 20 and Alaska-Anchorage on Dec. from the field averaging 83.2 points per game and allowing Tyrone Ellis is averaging 6.3 points-per-game. 23. They also face Loyola-Marymount on Dec.30. its opponents to average just 67.7 points per contest. By BEN GUNDERSON 11 11 |