Depleted women?s team wins two
January 31, 2001
Tomorrow night the Hornets will hope to win for the third time in four games, as they host Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m. at Hornet Gym.
The Hornets established a quick lead Saturday and cruised to a relatively easy 75-56 victory over Portland State. It took the Hornets (3-13, 1-5) all of two minutes to build a 12-4 lead and they never looked back from that point.
“I felt we had control in the first few minutes,” said Torrilyn Boyd, who contributed 15 points in the win, two of which came on an athletic coast-to-coast fast break off a steal.The Hornets had strong performances from a number of their players. Tola Tollman grabbed 16 rebounds, including 12 in the first half. She also added 14 points. Sephora Scoubes scored 14 points of her own against the 1-19 Vikings.
Michelle St. Clair led all scorers with 21 points. Both St. Clair and the Hornets have stepped up their respective play in previous games, as she scored a career high 36 points in an 89-83 victory over Riverside on Jan. 20.
Things seem to be coming together for Carolyn Jenkins and her Hornets as they follow her blueprint for success.
“The biggest thing I tell my players is to always give 110 percent effort and everything else will fall into place,” Jenkins said.
What fell into place conveniently for the Hornets in this game was how their athleticism and quickness was able to pose problems for a bigger, less mobile lineup of the Portland St. Vikings. The Hornets also were able to attack the Vikings in part because they have established some continuity and unity amongst their seven-player rotation. While the limited number of players tests the stamina of the Hornets, Jenkins believes her players have adapted to playing heavy minutes.
“We have established a pattern in games and in practice,” Jenkins said.Jenkins has compensated for the lack of players by doing more breakdown drills in practice as well.
Players believe that the victory over Portland State will instill confidence in the team and give the Hornets hope heading into the later portion of their schedule.
“This gives us a lot more confidence, we just need to keep our confidence up and play to our talent,” said Boyd.
Jenkins believes sticking with the game plan will be key in garnering more victories this season.
“We just need to play our brand of basketball,” she said.