UC Women Finally Top Glenville
January 28, 2005
By J.T. Simms
Sportswriter, Daily Mail
Led by two-time West Virginia Conference player of the year Tracy Wyatt,
Now, Wyatt is gone ... and
A boisterous crowd Thursday night looked on as the former Capital High star led the Golden Eagles to their first win in recent years over the visiting Pioneers, 73-62.
"Obviously, it was a big win for us," UC Coach Sherry Winn said. "They beat both times we played last year, by 20 points each time."
It marked the first time in her four seasons at the Golden Eagles' helm that her squad had defeated the traditional powerhouse.
"It helps our belief system," she said. "We see who we can beat now."
The Pioneers did not fall easily.
Freshman 6-footer Liz Bowers, who came into the game averaging 8.5 points a game, powered her way inside to 20 first-half points for Glenville. The Golden Eagles countered with a balanced attack to lead 35-30 at the break.
Bowers and 6-6 junior Denae Dobbins posed unusual matchup problems for the Golden Eagles and the 6-foot Lee.
"In practice we had Lee go against (assistant coach) Derek Dukes, who is 6-9 to try and get used to it," Winn said.
Dobbins, a former Gilmer County star and University of Cincinnati transfer, came into the game averaging 9.7 rebounds a game compared to Lee's team-high 8.0.
But the practice against Dukes paid off as Lee finished with 15 boards compared to Dobbins' nine.
What was more crucial was Lee took control of the game offensively after Glenville tied the score at 59-59 with 4:27 to play on a Dobbins turnaround in the lane.
Lee matched her season high on a 30-point night.
She scored nine of the Golden Eagles' final 14 points, with sophomore guard Courtney Thomas tallying the other five.
"She's tall; you have to be quick," Lee said of Dobbins. "Once I got close enough to her I knew I could take one step and get around her."
She began stepping up her play when Thomas, the team's No. 2 scorer behind Lee, went to the bench after picking up a technical and her third foul early in the second half.
"When she had to sit the bench for a while I knew I had to keep the team together," Lee said
A defensive change slowed Bowers, and 6-2 junior Mandy Ebel continued to play tight defense on Dobbins.
"We don't have that kind of height so we had to change up the way we play some," Winn said. "Ebel got more minutes than usual and did a great job."
Glenville also brought 6-2 Casey Taylor and 6-foot Karina Kendrick off the bench.
Ebel normally averages about 19 minutes, but played 32 Thursday.
"We just quit executing the last two minutes of the game," Glenville Coach Steve Harold said. "It's youth, it's inexperience, it's a lack of concentration for 40 minutes.
"We don't know how to win a big game."
Lee scored 21 after halftime, while Thomas added 13, freshman Emily Jones 12, and Ebel 11 for