Spring Break
Women's basketball earns second win
Lead by sophomore Talisa Rhea's 18 points Oregon State scores 69-47 victory over Houston at Legendary Gill Coliseum
Maria Bruggere
Issue date: 11/20/08 Section: Sports
The Oregon State Women's Basketball team pulled out their second win, 69-47, Wednesday night against the Houston Cougars at Legendary Gill Coliseum with steady playing in the first half.
"I'd like to really congratulate my team on playing an excellent first half of basketball," head coach LaVonda Wagner said. "I think the first half to open up the game we played really well. We executed our offense to get some second chance looks at the basket by rebounding the basketball and we got some key stops."
The Beavers (2-0) took a strong lead in the first half leading 46-18 at halftime, but things changed coming into the second half. They had trouble keeping up the momentum of a 20-point lead. The Beavers were outscored 29-23 in the second half with 12 turnovers, but it wasn't enough for the Cougars (2-1) to take over the lead.
"In the second half we came out a little flat, we need to learn to play with a lead, and we have to be able to execute our offense and continue to rebound the basketball and get stops," said Wagner. "We have to be able to stay focused in that second half."
Game highlights included sophomore guard Talisa Rhea leading the team, scoring 18 points with four assists and two steals. Senior guard Mercedes Fox-Griffin had eight points as well as seven assists, but also managed a surprising eight turnovers. Sophomore center Alex Mitchell played a solid bench game, bringing in 16 points and a steal.
"I knew I needed to have a post-presence tonight, so I needed to pretty much focus on playing defense and then we got to offense, just running our plays, I made sure I caught the ball and was strong," Mitchell said. "I just made sure I held my position and caught the ball strong. My teammates gave me good passes."
Overall, the Beavers played a strong game of basketball with only a couple of weak areas. Those areas are the ones they know they can improve on and get better for the next game. They played smart, aggressive basketball to get the win.
"We focused on running our plays and just executing and hitting the open man," Fox-Griffin said. "We really just focused on us and the things we needed to do."
The Beavers will take it back to the practice courts before heading off to Freeport, Grand Bahamas over Thanksgiving and then San Francisco on Dec. 3 before returning home Dec. 7 to face Portland State at 4 p.m.
Maria Bruggere, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
"I'd like to really congratulate my team on playing an excellent first half of basketball," head coach LaVonda Wagner said. "I think the first half to open up the game we played really well. We executed our offense to get some second chance looks at the basket by rebounding the basketball and we got some key stops."
The Beavers (2-0) took a strong lead in the first half leading 46-18 at halftime, but things changed coming into the second half. They had trouble keeping up the momentum of a 20-point lead. The Beavers were outscored 29-23 in the second half with 12 turnovers, but it wasn't enough for the Cougars (2-1) to take over the lead.
"In the second half we came out a little flat, we need to learn to play with a lead, and we have to be able to execute our offense and continue to rebound the basketball and get stops," said Wagner. "We have to be able to stay focused in that second half."
Game highlights included sophomore guard Talisa Rhea leading the team, scoring 18 points with four assists and two steals. Senior guard Mercedes Fox-Griffin had eight points as well as seven assists, but also managed a surprising eight turnovers. Sophomore center Alex Mitchell played a solid bench game, bringing in 16 points and a steal.
"I knew I needed to have a post-presence tonight, so I needed to pretty much focus on playing defense and then we got to offense, just running our plays, I made sure I caught the ball and was strong," Mitchell said. "I just made sure I held my position and caught the ball strong. My teammates gave me good passes."
Overall, the Beavers played a strong game of basketball with only a couple of weak areas. Those areas are the ones they know they can improve on and get better for the next game. They played smart, aggressive basketball to get the win.
"We focused on running our plays and just executing and hitting the open man," Fox-Griffin said. "We really just focused on us and the things we needed to do."
The Beavers will take it back to the practice courts before heading off to Freeport, Grand Bahamas over Thanksgiving and then San Francisco on Dec. 3 before returning home Dec. 7 to face Portland State at 4 p.m.
Maria Bruggere, sports writer
sports@dailybarometer.com
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