|
Women’s
team prepares for first NCAA appearance Practice was a little different for the women’s basketball team Wednesday. Besides the lights going out at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum during the team’s shoot around, the team also practiced with the male practice squad. Senior guard Jill Sutton said practicing with the men will be an advantage for their game against Penn State. “We’ve been practicing with the guy’s team the last two days,” Sutton said. “They’ve been working extra to learn Penn State’s offense. We practiced against them right before we went up to the (Western Athletic Conference) Tournament, and we felt that it really helped us get our defense down. If you go against guys, and you can stop them, then you know you can stop the girls as well.” The 11th-seeded Frogs will play in their first NCAA Tournament against sixth-seeded Penn State at 6 p.m. Saturday in Ruston, La. Assistant head coach Tonya Benton said the team must be ready for Penn State’s elaborate game plan.
“They execute very well and run a ton of set plays,” Benton said. “To do well against them, we will have to move the ball and move them. They have big players inside that aren’t used to coming out of the lane as much. We’ll have to use our shooters to get the open shots.” The Lady Lions are led by freshman Kelly Mazzante, who scored 18.6 points a game in the regular season. Mazzante is the only freshman in Big Ten history to lead the conference in scoring. She was also named the Women’s Basketball News Service co-National Freshman of the Year. Three other players also averaged double figures for Penn State. Averaging 12.1 points a game, junior forward Kati Safaritova was TCU’s leading scorer. Junior forward Tricia Payne, who averaged 10.6 points a game, was the only other player to average double figures for the Frogs. Penn State head coach Rene Portland said it will be difficult to prepare for TCU. “It’s tough to play somebody you don’t know a whole lot about,” Portland said. “One thing we do know is that TCU is a very good three-point shooting team, and it has a terrific back court. We have to be able to shoot the ball very well against this team.” Penn State averaged 79.2 points a game, while its opponents averaged 69.8 points a game. TCU averaged 72 points a game, while its opponents averaged 61 points a game. The Frogs are 2-0 at neutral sites, while the Lady Lions are 2-2. Sutton said the team is enthusiastic about its first NCAA tournament. “We’ve been happier this week than we have been all year,” Sutton said. “Everybody has been smiling and is definitely having fun.” Although the Frogs’ practice was different than usual, Benton said the Frogs’ approach to the game won’t be any different than other games they have played this season. “It’s exciting because none of us have been to the NCAA Tournament before,” Benton said. “But at the same time, the team knows what it has to do to be successful against Penn State.” Kelly
Morris |
