News From The Summit: Midconfans News 12/10/2006

GENTS VS TEXAS TECH

Knight moves into second place on career wins list--The Daily Southtown

Knight Time: Coach passes Rupp on all-time wins list--The Post-Tribune

Texas Tech blasts Centenary; Knight passes Rupp--The Shreveport Times

Texas Tech Sails Past Centenary--texastech.cstv.com

Texas Tech 98, Centenary 64--USA Today

Two wins from Dean, Knight breaks second-place tie with Rupp--CBS Sportsline

Knight breaks tie with Rupp, now two wins behind Smith--espn.com

Texas Tech 98, Centenary 64--FOX Sports

Knight bags win No. 877, passes Rupp--RedRaiders.com

Red Raiders Prove Too Much for Gents--GoCentenary.Com

LADIES VS SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA

Centenary women fall to Southeastern--The Shreveport Times

THIS WEEK IN SOUTHEASTERN ATHLETICS - DECEMBER 11-17, 2006--LIONSPORTS.net

The Lady Lions (6-3) extended its winning streak to five games with a 56-39 win over in-state foe Centenary on Saturday. Saturday's victory marked the lowest scoring output by a Southeastern opponent since the 1992-93 season and also was the first time the Lady Lions have won three straight away from the University Center since the 1994-95 season. Southeastern will look to continue its strong play away from home on Friday, when they face Memphis in a 7 p.m. road game.

Southeastern Louisiana Earns 56-39 Win over Ladies--GoCentenary.Com

THUNDERBIRDS VS WEBER STATE

Barnes' big night lifts SUU over 'Cats--deseretnews.com

SUU snags 200th for Evans--The Spectrum

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: T-birds close out Wildcats from line--The Salt Lake Tribune

S. Utah 75, Weber St. 63--CBS Sportsline

S. Utah 75, Weber St. 63--espn.com

S. Utah 75, Weber St. 63--USA Today

S. Utah 75, Weber St. 63--FOX Sports

Men dominate rival Wildcats 63-75--The SUU Journal

Thunderbirds Hold Off Weber State Comeback--SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS

LADY THUNDERBIRDS VS PACIFIC

Turnovers tell tale for Thunderbirds--The Spectrum

Tigers Rally For A 62-60 Win At Southern Utah--pacifictigers.cstv.com

Tigers shoot lights out on the road--The Record

PACIFIC COMES BACK, UPSETS LADY 'BIRDS--SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS

LADY GOLDEN GRIZZLIES VS MARQUETTE

NO. 24 MARQUETTE 64, OAKLAND 51--The Detroit Free Press

Krystal Ellis scored 17 points and Marquette held the host Golden Grizzlies to 31% shooting from the floor. Jessica Pike led Oakland (4-5) with 15 points.

Marquette hands OU first home loss--The Oakland Press

By KELLY McDONALD Of The Oakland Press

ROCHESTER — Half-court trap. Full-court man-to-man. Saggy defense or pressure. It didn’t matter.
No. 24 Marquette coach Terri Mitchell has it all in her game plan.
Mitchell’s Golden Eagles got their coach her 200th victory with a 64-51 triumph over Oakland University Saturday afternoon at the O’Rena.
The constantly switching defenses every time down the floor gave the Grizzlies fits all night. The loss is the fi rst for Oakland on its home floor.
“We try to switch up our defense as much as possible,” said Mitchell, who is 200-110 in 11 seasons at Marquette. “(Oakland) still got some good looks and they also caused us 22 turnovers.”
After closing the gap to 34-28 on two jumpers by senior Nicole Piggott to begin the second half, Marquette’s defense forced Oakland into 0-for-12 shooting over the next seven minutes.
“They do a really nice job of switching defenses,” said Oakland head coach Beckie Francis. “It’s the first time we faced that all year.
“The fact that they’re taller affects our shots. Their guards are 6-foot-1 and 6-foot-2 and we’re not used to playing against that kind of height.”
Marquette (9-1) jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead before four straight points by Piggott got Oakand back in it.
Senior Danielle Kamm sparked a 7-2 run with an old-fashioned 3-point play for the Golden Eagles. But a timeout by Francis produced a trey by Bonnie Baker followed by a Charlese Greer (Pontiac Northern) to Melissa Jeltema layup.
“Oakland is good. We watched them on film and they have a lot of weapons,” said Mitchell. “They’re coached well. We don’t take anything for granted.”
A shot fake and drive by April Kidd cut Marquette’s lead to 21-18.
“We talked about the extra energy we needed to focus at halftime,” said Mitchell, whose team missed seven layups in the first half. “It was more of a plea than a strategy.”
The plea worked as her team responded with a 13-3 run after Piggott cut the lead to 34-28.
Greer’s reverse layup halted the field goal drought for Oakland but three turnovers on its next five possessions led to Efueko Osagie-Landry’s jumper inside and Marquette’s biggest lead of the game 53-34.
“We learned we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Francis. “When we get a good defensive stop, we can’t have the unforced turnovers. That had a lot to do with their quickness and switching defenses.”
Sophomore Jessica Pike (Clawson), Oakland’s leading scorer with 15 points, gave the Grizzlies something to build upon when she canned a halfcourt heave at the final buzzer.
“We practice that everyday,” said Francis. “We end every practice with a half-court shot contest and Pike is one of our leaders. So we told her to go for it at the end.”
Sophomore guard Krystal Ellis led Marquette with 17 points while Quaye and Kamm combined for 24 points inside where the Golden Eagles dominated Oakland 44-14. Piggott and Kidd fi nished with 10 points each for Oakland (4-5).
With West Virginia, Auburn and No. 7 Connecticut coming up on the road, Francis expects to be ready for Mid-Continent Conference play beginning Jan. 8 when OU hosts IUPUI.
“We’re playing teams that are in higher level conferences so when we get back to our conference, we’re used to strong, big and tough teams. We’re hoping it’s going to help us,” Francis said.