2008 Woodie Awards
Tigers clobber Colonels in SCAC opener
By: Matt Clemens
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
It didn't take long for the No. 8 women's basketball team to get back on track. After suffering its first loss of the season more than a week ago, the Tigers opened Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play Saturday by walloping host Centre College 80-55.
The win continued the Tigers' dominance in the SCAC as it marked the 14th conference win in 15 tries and the Tigers' sixth victory in a row.
"Coming into the game, we were very focused on taking care of business," said senior guard Gretchen Haehl, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists while going a perfect 4-4 from the field. She said the team lacked offensive aggressiveness in their first loss.
"The main focus going into Saturday's game was being more aggressive on offensive possessions, which was something we lacked in our loss," she said.
The Tigers would be just that. Junior guard Cassie Pruzin notched a career-high 23 points while sophomore post Jenna Fernandez also scored a career-high 21. The scoring sprees couldn't have been more dissimilar as Fernandez would score the team's first 10 points, and Pruzin had to wait 13 minutes to get her first bucket.
"They started to key in on Jenna which allowed me to get some good looks from the outside," said Pruzin, who also snatched five rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.
In Fernandez, the Tigers found a presence they didn't know they had.
"We have very strong [guards] and compared to last year, we are undersized in the [front court]," Fernandez said. "Most teams focus on stopping our guards. It is important that we perform well in the front court in order to relieve some of the pressure on the guards."
Pruzin agreed and said she saw some promise in the sophomore.
"I think Jenna is capable of performing the way she did Saturday every game," Pruzin said. "With her presence down low, it makes them have to guard us inside and out."
While DePauw would force 22 turnovers, get 13 steals and allow just one Colonel to eclipse the double-digit scoring mark, the team says it still needs to improve on the defensive end.
"We showed some weak spots in boxing out and help-side defense," Haehl said. "We had a pretty good defensive effort, but we can always get better."
The win continued the Tigers' dominance in the SCAC as it marked the 14th conference win in 15 tries and the Tigers' sixth victory in a row.
"Coming into the game, we were very focused on taking care of business," said senior guard Gretchen Haehl, who scored 10 points and dished out five assists while going a perfect 4-4 from the field. She said the team lacked offensive aggressiveness in their first loss.
"The main focus going into Saturday's game was being more aggressive on offensive possessions, which was something we lacked in our loss," she said.
The Tigers would be just that. Junior guard Cassie Pruzin notched a career-high 23 points while sophomore post Jenna Fernandez also scored a career-high 21. The scoring sprees couldn't have been more dissimilar as Fernandez would score the team's first 10 points, and Pruzin had to wait 13 minutes to get her first bucket.
"They started to key in on Jenna which allowed me to get some good looks from the outside," said Pruzin, who also snatched five rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals.
In Fernandez, the Tigers found a presence they didn't know they had.
"We have very strong [guards] and compared to last year, we are undersized in the [front court]," Fernandez said. "Most teams focus on stopping our guards. It is important that we perform well in the front court in order to relieve some of the pressure on the guards."
Pruzin agreed and said she saw some promise in the sophomore.
"I think Jenna is capable of performing the way she did Saturday every game," Pruzin said. "With her presence down low, it makes them have to guard us inside and out."
While DePauw would force 22 turnovers, get 13 steals and allow just one Colonel to eclipse the double-digit scoring mark, the team says it still needs to improve on the defensive end.
"We showed some weak spots in boxing out and help-side defense," Haehl said. "We had a pretty good defensive effort, but we can always get better."
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