Women's Basketball

UC Headed for Hot Springs
March 14, 2006 

By Jacob Messer
Sportswriter, Charleston Daily Mail

No matter the opponent, no matter the situation, no matter the score, University of Charleston Coach Sherry Winn and her players believe they can win.

Correction: They believe they will win.

So, it should surprise no one that they weren't worried in the NCAA Division II East Regional final Monday when Glenville State College entered the visiting locker room with a two-point lead after an offensively-challenged and slow-paced first half in which the West Virginia Conference rivals combined for only 48 points.

The Golden Eagles fully expected to beat the Pioneers, just like they did in the regular season (85-77 at Glenville) and again in the conference tournament (81-59 at the Charleston Civic Center) and they did it.

Sparked by Lisa Lee to begin the second half and Courtney Thomas to end it, top-seeded and third-ranked UC advanced to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season with a 68-58 win over second-seeded and sixth-ranked Glenville.

UC (31-2) will face Great Lakes Regional champion Grand Valley State (30-3) on March 22 at 8 p.m. at Summit Arena in Hot Springs, Ark.

"We knew we were good and we knew that we could get it done," said Winn, whose team set a school record for wins in a season with the victory. "We just simply had to push ourselves a little harder."

The win was the Golden Eagles' ninth in a row at Eddie King Gym, where a raucous crowd of 2,169 fans watched the rivals' rematch.

Lee, a senior forward whom media named the tournament's most outstanding player, accounted for all of the Golden Eagles' points during an 8-0 run that turned a 27-23 deficit into a 31-27 advantage.

First, she swished a foul-line jumper. Then, she dribbled through the paint and passed to the perimeter, where Thomas was waiting to bury a 3-pointer and give her an assist. Next, she netted the second of two free throws. Finally, she swished a turn-around jumper.

The Golden Eagles never trailed again, extending their advantage to a game-high 13 points with 1:09 remaining.

"I knew in the second half we would spark and everything would be fine," Lee said.

Lee made 9-of-19 field goals and 4-of-7 free throws for 22 points, tops among her teammates. She also contributed 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals, all team highs.

"She makes them special," Glenville Coach Steve Harold said of Lee, an All-America candidate who holds the school and conference career scoring records with 2,240 points.

"(She) probably leads America in layups. You can talk about stopping layups, but I'll be damned if she doesn't make them. She somehow creates."

With her team clinging to a six-point advantage and with Lee entering and exiting the game because of foul problems, Thomas accounted for 14 of the Golden Eagles' final 18 points to help them preserve their lead.

She started the surge with a pair of free throws, two of the eight she made that night. Lee swished a jumper, then Thomas scored on a layup that followed a picture-perfect crossover.

Next, Thomas collected assists on three consecutive layups - the first one by Mandy Ebel (11 points) and the other two by Laura Kinsler (nine points).

"Courtney is always good at finding the open player," Kinsler said. "She can see the floor better than anybody."

Lee netted another jumper, then Thomas finished the Golden Eagles' scoring with four free throws in the final 65 seconds.

Thomas, a junior guard who earned all-tournament honors, finished with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. She also helped her team hold Rachel Redick, a junior guard who is one of the Pioneers' two All-America candidates, to a season-low five points - 12.7 points below her season average.

"She is one of the best players I have ever played against," Thomas said, "and I just kind of take it to heart to play my hardest against her because I look up to her and think she is an amazing player."

The Golden Eagles made 8-of-31 field goals (25.8 percent) for a season-low 23 points and had 11 turnovers in the first half compared to 15-of-33 field goals (45.5 percent) for 45 points and six turnovers in the second half.

"We aren't going to win games giving up 45 points (in a half)," Harold said. "We should win games when we hold teams to 68 points (in a game)."

The Pioneers made 10-of-28 field goals (35.7 percent) and had 10 turnovers in the first half compared to 13-of-34 field goals (38.2 percent) and 13 turnovers in the second half.

"Offensively, we got out of rhythm," Harold said.

Harold was upset that his team didn't utilize the advantage it had in Denae Dobbins, a senior forward who at 6 feet, 6 inches typically towers above her defenders.

Dobbins scored 26 points - 11.3 points above her season average - and grabbed 15 rebounds to record her third consecutive double-double. She knocked down 11-of-17 field goals and connected on 4-of-5 free throws.

"We went through some extended time periods when we didn't realize (No.) 44 was on the floor," Harold said of Dobbins, the Pioneers' other All-America candidate who also blocked two shots and altered many more on defense. "They had no answer for her the whole night. We just didn't get it to her enough."

Casey Taylor added 11 points and six rebounds for the Pioneers, who placed Dobbins and Redick on the all-tournament team.

GSC (30-3) endured all of its losses at the hands of UC.

"Everybody says a team can't beat you three times," Harold said.

"They did. They must be better than us."