Page 20 / Wednesday. November 12. 2008
SPORTS
The Pendulum
Women’s basketball dominates at exhibition game
Jordan Scahill
Reporter
The women’s basketball team
was six points away from a 100-
point victory Sunday afternoon in an
exhibition game against Ml Express at
the Nest.
By halftime, the Phoenix had
garnered a 43-point lead, well on its
way to its first win of the 2008-2009
campaign under new head coach
Karen Barefoot.
Sophomore guard Julie Taylor led
the Phoenix with 24 points, followed
by freshman guard Aiesha Harper
with 14 points.
“1 think everyone contributes both
offensively and defensively,” Taylor
said. “I got into a rhythm pretty early."
As one of the youngest teams in
the league with no seniors, the team
places an emphasis on pressure
defense and works hard to surprise
teams, since they are underestimated.
Picked to finish last in conference
play by league coaches, the Phoenix
has a lot to prove if it is to improve
from their losing record last year.
The team also faces new
experiences this season with new head
coach, who has never had a losing
season in her head coaching career.
“We have to thrive on our defense
to generate our offense,” Barefoot
said. “I have played in it and 1 have
coached it.”
Barefoot said she is proud of her
team’s hard work in the preseason as
they have turned into great, in-shape
players.
“It feels really good to finally get
out there on the court,” Taylor said.
“To see all of our hard work paying
off.”
With a 54-point victory, the Phoenix
has set the tone for a season filled
with new, exciting expectations.
Barefoot said she and the team came
up with an entire list of expectations
for the 2008-2009 season.
LINDSAY FENDT | Asst, Photo Editor
Junior Tiffany Davis takes the ball to the
hoop. During the exhibition game, the
Phoenix never trailed Ml Express in points.
Throughout the game, the team
practiced a number of different
defensive systems. Every pla> er had
a chance to pla>' in the game, as
Barefoot stressed the importance of
getting all of her pla>ers, especially
freshmen, playing time before the
regular season begins.
The Phoenix had an overall team
effort in its goal to force the opposing
team to take the first time-out, then to
aggressively set and keep the tempo.
As the first time the freshmen played
on a college court, Sunday’s game
held great potential for the players to
prove themselves and raised the bar
for the rest of the season. Since it is
such a young team, the freshmen have
a unique chance to get significant
playing time early in their careers.
“1 always work on keeping my focus
LINDSAY FENDT | Asst. Photo Editor
Sophomore Jess Luedtke takes a shot as she overcomes the Ml Express Defense. She
scored nine total points in the game on Sunday afternoon.
and keeping my head in the game
without hesitating,” Harper said.
Defense, an aggressive mentality
and a strong transition game are some
strengths of the young Phoenix squad,
while connecting passes and mental
toughness are the elements the team
is working on the most.
“Your mind is the strongest and
most important thing,” Barefoot said.
With a team theme of “Leave a
Mark,” Barefoot expects to use her
coaching methods with the team
chemistry to set high goals for the
coming year.
The Phoenix will kick off its
regular season at 7 p.m. Friday night
as it hosts non-conference opponent
Winston-Salem State in the ISES
Cancer-Awareness Tipoff tournament,
held in honor of the late ,\nn Lashley,
Elon's former assistant coach.
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
•
I
I
■
I
I
I
I
I
I
i
I
•
i
i
i
I
i
■
I
t
•
I
I
Have your voice be heard...
Student Government Association
rvice. Leadership. Excellence.
senate meetii.as sre e
n s.
I