2008 Woodie Awards
Women's Basketball: UMass getting help from underclassmen
Wright and Mosgrove key scorers for offense
Mike Gillmeister, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Sports
Patience leads to experience, and experience leads to results.
The Massachusetts women's basketball team is getting experience now, but the results have yet to be determined.
UMass coach Marnie Dacko is employing innovative strategies to ensure the success of her young team. Specifically, she runs the court with four guards and one forward as her starting lineup.
Sophomore Teya Wright handles the post for the Minutewomen (3-3) and since Dacko instructed her to focus more on rebounding, her fouling has gone down and her point totals are up. After six games, Wright averages 11 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Most recently, Wright scored a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds against Colorado (2-2), when UMass played in the Coors Classic in Denver. The Minutewomen lost the championship game to Minnesota (6-1), who shot 40 percent from the field.
In that game, Wright had two points in 17 minutes because of foul trouble. However, the continuous scoring effort of the Patterson, N.J., native is the result of her off-season training.
When she isn't in early foul trouble, Wright has been good for at least 10 points a game for the Minutewomen.
But Wright isn't the only productive sophomore in the starting lineup. Six-foot guard Cerie Mosgrove averages just more than 10 points per game, most of which come from 3-point range. Mosgrove is statistically the best 3-point shooter on the team, shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc and shooting 40 percent overall.
Naturally a guard, Mosgrove is a presence down low, grabbing 18 rebounds on the season, an average of three per game. She has a good handle on the ball as well. Next to junior point guard Kim Benton's 11 turnovers, Mosgrove's 13 is the lowest total among all starting guards.
Benton is also a product of innovation as well. As the point guard, Benton has the ball constantly in her hands; and it is her job to find the open shooter or open lane to take her own shot. However, Benton has shown this season that she is more inclined to give up the ball, especially with a 3-point threat like Mosgrove on the floor, a role in which Benton thrived last season.
The Massachusetts women's basketball team is getting experience now, but the results have yet to be determined.
UMass coach Marnie Dacko is employing innovative strategies to ensure the success of her young team. Specifically, she runs the court with four guards and one forward as her starting lineup.
Sophomore Teya Wright handles the post for the Minutewomen (3-3) and since Dacko instructed her to focus more on rebounding, her fouling has gone down and her point totals are up. After six games, Wright averages 11 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Most recently, Wright scored a career-high 24 points and 13 rebounds against Colorado (2-2), when UMass played in the Coors Classic in Denver. The Minutewomen lost the championship game to Minnesota (6-1), who shot 40 percent from the field.
In that game, Wright had two points in 17 minutes because of foul trouble. However, the continuous scoring effort of the Patterson, N.J., native is the result of her off-season training.
When she isn't in early foul trouble, Wright has been good for at least 10 points a game for the Minutewomen.
But Wright isn't the only productive sophomore in the starting lineup. Six-foot guard Cerie Mosgrove averages just more than 10 points per game, most of which come from 3-point range. Mosgrove is statistically the best 3-point shooter on the team, shooting 45.2 percent from beyond the arc and shooting 40 percent overall.
Naturally a guard, Mosgrove is a presence down low, grabbing 18 rebounds on the season, an average of three per game. She has a good handle on the ball as well. Next to junior point guard Kim Benton's 11 turnovers, Mosgrove's 13 is the lowest total among all starting guards.
Benton is also a product of innovation as well. As the point guard, Benton has the ball constantly in her hands; and it is her job to find the open shooter or open lane to take her own shot. However, Benton has shown this season that she is more inclined to give up the ball, especially with a 3-point threat like Mosgrove on the floor, a role in which Benton thrived last season.
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