The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2000 Page: 19 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER SPORTS FRIDAY, JANUARY 21, 2000
19
Lady Owls ride roller coaster through winter recess
by Jason Gershman
THKKSHKK STAFF
The women's basketball team
began its Christmas break on a hot
streak. But the Lady Owls' quickly
cooled off as their play went from
dominating to frustrating.
From Dec. lltoJan.3,Riceranoff
four straight wins in which the team
outscored its opponents by a com-
bined 96 points. Since then, however,
the shots have not fallen for the Lady
Owls in consecutive road losses at
the University of Maine Jan. 11 and
the University of Tulsa Saturday.
"Maybe we got a little loo confi-
dent and feeling too good after the
four straight wins," head coach
Cristy McKinney said. "Our prob-
lem in the past two games is just our
intensity level."
'We had a stretch of *
four games where we
not only played well but
... also built up some
confidence.'
— Cristy McKinney
Head coach
"We have been shaky the last
couple of games," seniorguard Maria
Brumfield said. "We look forward to
being able to count on seven or eight
players each and every game, but
right now we cannot even count on
two. One day we all get fired up and
are playing great, and the next day
it's like we're zombies on the court."
The Lady Owls' first chance to
get back on track came late last night
when they visited the University of
Hawaii, the preseason Western Ath-
letic Conference favorite. Before
departing for the Aloha State, the
Lady Owls were excited about fac-
ing the Rainbow Wahine.
"Hawaii was picked to be first in
the WAC, but they already lost to
SMU, so we know they are beatable,"
senior guard Jenny Cafferty said. "I
still believe our team is headed in
the right direction. The WAC cham-
pionship is definitely up for grabs."
The Lady Owls won't have much
hope of winning the conference title
if they continue to shoot as poorly as
they have during their losing streak.
a
f
CARTER BROOKING/THRESHER
Senior guard Maria Brumfield runs the Rice offense against Illinois State University earlier this year. After winning four
straight games, the Lady Owls had lost two in a row entering last night's conference contest at the University of Hawaii.
They left for Maine last week riding
the momentum of their four-game
winning streak and took a 36-35 half-
time lead over the Black Bears, but
18.2 percent second-half shooting
led to a 70-51 defeat.
The shooting woes continued in
the first half of the team's WAC
opener against Tulsa, and the Lady
Owls trailed 38-26 at halftime. The
second half began with a'bang as
Rice built a seven-point lead before
running out of steam, missing key
free throws and falling 59-58.
'Tulsa was a very disappointing
loss," McKinney said. "If we had
played with more intensity in the
first half, we would not have been in
a situation where a couple of missed
free throws costs us the game."
The four-game win streak, which
included home victories over Texas
A&M Universityjan. 3, Florida A&M
University Dec. 30, Cornell Univer-
sity Dec. 21 and the University of
Texas-Pan American Dec. 11, had
its share of highlights.
Senior forward Kirra Jordan
joined the 1,000-point club against
UT-Pan Am and McKinney notched
her 100th victory at the helm of the-
Lady Owls against Cornell.
In addition, the Lady Owls edged
the Aggies in a thrilling 60-57 victory
when Cafferty nailed a three-pointer,
her only basket of the game,«with 10
seconds to go.
"I was surprised coach put me in
for the end of the game because I
was feeling sick and had not played
well up to that point at all," Cafferty
said. "There's a certain play designed
for me to take the three-pointer at
the top of the key. When the ball
went in, I was amazed."
"I watch Jenny shoot it every day
in practice," McKinney said. "Al-
though the play did not begin the
way it was supposed to, the team did
a great job ad-libbing and setting the
necessary screens to get her open.
She got the good look and knocked
it down."
At the time, it seemed everything
was going well for Rice.
"We had a stretch of four games
where we not only played well but
got real quality practice time in as
'.veil." McKinney said. "We also built
up some confidence."
'One day we all get
fired up and are playing
great, and the next dax
it s like we ' re zombies
on the court.'
— Maria Brumfield
Senior guard
Another highlight has been the
play of freshman point guard Kim
Lawson. Lawson began the season
as a backup but has started every
game since the season opener. She
has adapted very quickly to leading
the Lady Owls' offense and had a
career-high 10 assists in the victory
over Texas A&M.
While the transition from scorer
to passer is often difficult, Lawson
has done just fine.
"I chose Rice because I wanted to
play," Lawson said. "My role has
changed so much from high school.
In high school, my team looked for
me to score, while here I am looked
at to get the ball to the players who
will score. I am very happy to have
the opportunity to help the team."
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McAlister, Jett & Tam, Mariel. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 87, No. 13, Ed. 1 Friday, January 21, 2000, newspaper, January 21, 2000; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246664/m1/19/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.