2008 Woodie Awards
Basketball: Young Minutewomen learning fast
David Brinch, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Sports
|
The Minutewomen (3-3) held an eight point lead at half time Saturday night, but were not able to defeat Minnesota in the final contest of the tournament held in Denver.
"We have a lot to build on and you use that as ammunition to help your team and have them grove because we would like to be like Minnesota," UMass coach Marnie Dacko said.
Sophomore guard Cerie Mosgrove led the Maroon and White with seventeen points, averaging 13 points per game over the two-day tournament while being named to the Coors Classic All-Tournament Team. Against the Golden Gophers, Mosgrove was 5-for-9 from three-point range, while senior guards Stefanie Gerardot and Sakera Young added 15 points and 10 points respectively.
"Cerie is shooting the ball extremely well, her defense is picking up and teams are having a hard time staying in man defense against us," Dacko said.
Tonight's game will end the Friar's (2-4) six-game road stretch that began on Nov. 18 against Hartford. The Hawks dealt PC its first loss of the season, after the Friars opened its season with an easy 62-39 victory over in-state foe Brown. The Friars have not been successful on the road, going 1-4 in its previous five games.
Like UMass, the Friars were impressive in tournament play, reaching the championship game of the Hawkeye Classic after defeating Portland in overtime on Nov. 22. They were routed by the host of the tournament, Iowa, 64-46, as the Friars had to play catch up throughout the game, but came up short.
Both teams have met 15 times, with the Friars holding a slim lead, 8-7, in the all-time series. UMass is 2-2 at home against visiting PC, who is making its first trip to Amherst since the 1994 season.
Last season, the Minutewomen traveled to Providence and were defeated 59-56 on New Years Eve. Senior forward Shantee Darrian nailed a three pointer with sixteen seconds left to spoil a second half comeback which featured UMass erasing a 14-point lead. Kate Mills had 21 points for the Minutewomen, with 15 of them coming in the second half, but they could not hold on to a two-point lead with a little over two minutes left in regulation. The Providence victory halted a streak of three-straight Minutewomen victories over the home team Friars. Despite the heartbreaking loss last season, Dacko knows that her team must come out and put points up on the board if they want to win.
Be the first to comment on this story