The Barometer Online

Issue date: 4/12/07 Section: Sports

For starters, I had to save the most important two winter sports for last. Sure, both our hoops teams didn't have the best years, but I felt it was necessary to put them in a league (or should I say, column) of their own.

There were few triumphs, a good share of losses, and another season of the Jay John era in 2008 announced by Bobby D. Of course, not the easiest season to digest for the fans, but rebuilding happens from time to time with programs. Let's just hope its going up though and not falling further away from the rest of the pack.

OK basketball teams, you had tough seasons, but I know you guys are working hard to get back to the upper echelon of the Pac-10. Crack open a beer, tear open that envelope, and take a nice deep breathe. Here are your winter grades …

Women's Basketball: At the start, I figured with five seniors exiting that the lack of experience would prevent the Beavers from building off their WNIT season. And yes, it turned out that way, but there were a lot of positive things from LaVonda's second team at OSU. Casey Nash tripled her scoring average in one year, which sounds insane and it is, but we needed someone to step up. In the end, her 20-point average was tops in the Pac-10, and she did it with season-long ailments, which makes her season even more amazing. Freshman Judie Lomax also played well and was pretty automatic from the field. She shot 65 percent, which was a Pac-10 best, and she pulled down almost eight boards a game that ranked fifth. Point guard Mercedes Fox-Griffin dished out assists like Steve Nash this year and was at the top in the conference in that stat. She also returns as our top scorer at 9.5 points per game, so we'll need you to triple your average for next season. OK, I know, that's a tad extreme to ask for, my bad.

Anyway, we continue on. The huge comeback win against the Ducks in Eugene was a complete punch in the face to our rivals to the south. We played damn tough in conference games and played tremendous defense throughout the entire year. We'll be looking for another Nash next year as Casey graduates and Lomax has decided to transfer back home to Maryland. With half the scoring gone going into 2008, there will be question marks again. But another good-looking recruiting class this year, and with the return of veteran Tiffany Ducker, we've definitely added some punch for next season and the future.

Hey, coach Wagner knows what she's doing; we're all optimistic that things are looking good.

Continued...

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