SPORTS THE UNIVERSITY STAR
steadyapproach The Texas State women’s golf team sits in 11th place after the second round of the Price’s Give Em Five Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M. Two Bobcats were in the top 20 after day two of the tournament, hosted by New Mexico State University. Freshman Linn Gustaffson is tied for 13th with a two round score of 150 while junior Christine Brijalba is tied for 16th with a score of 151. The women conclude action Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - Page 8
Sports Contact — Scott Strickman, starsports@txstate.edu
Conditioning, hard work Lone Star state has best of the West prepare women’s lacrosse for first tournament By Lora Collins Sports Reporter Conditioning won’t be a problem for the women’s lacrosse sport club squad this season. In preparation of the first tournament at Texas A&M this weekend, the women have mentally and physically challenged themselves in practice to make sure they come out on top. Because the tournament determines each team’s rank for the year, Texas State hopes to break A&M’s winning streak. “Last year we took third, so we were ranked third for the whole year; and we ended up finishing in third, so it’s a pretty good prediction of how the year is going to go,” said Bailey Brown, low defense junior. “We look really strong this year, and we don’t think we are going to take home anything less than first, even though A&M hasn’t lost their tournament in the last four years.” Coach Justin Bridges believes the women’s lacrosse club is the best-conditioned team in their league. “The game is going to be better for us because I condition my team harder than any other team out there,” Bridges said. “I’m always pushing them a little bit harder, and because of that we are going to be able to outrun every team. Last year, we were almost able to outrun every team. With 14 (women) this year, there is nobody who is going to be able to keep up with us.” Even though the women condition at a high level daily, Bailey said the work will pay off during the season. “Practices are intense,” Bailey said. “We have been prac-
ticing since the first week of September. On Mondays, we have conditioning days; we do everything from straight sprints all practice to river workouts. This week is going to be intense because of the tournament coming up. We are the most conditioned team in the league. Coach says we might not win every game, but we will outrun every team.” However, there is work to be done. Bailey believes the team needs to work on transitions and playing together. Because the team has recruited many freshmen, some of which have never played a game of lacrosse, they have not had a chance to all play together yet. “Transitioning the ball from pass to pass is the most important thing people focus on because you can throw the ball faster than you can run it down the field, and just having that accuracy is probably the best thing,” Bailey said. Lindsay Duckworth, midfield/defense freshman, has played lacrosse for nine years. Duckworth said practice is difficult for the new members because the fields are not lined for a lacrosse game. “There are still so many things they can’t see without a lined field,” Duckworth said. “It’s important to get our brand new girls who have never even seen a game to actually see a lined field, because right now we practice on a field that is lined for football and soccer.” In his first year coaching women’s lacrosse at Texas State, Bridges believes his experience coaching men’s teams helps him move the women above other teams. “Getting the opportunity to coach was a big step for me
GABE MENDOZA Star Columnist
Justin Jackley/Star illustration
because last year was my first year coaching (women’s) lacrosse. But I bring a different mentality to the game because I’m so used to the (men’s) part of the game, and so we have a different style of playing that comes across on the field,” Bridges said. The team will scrimmage Texas this week to engage in friendly competition before the A&M tournament. Even though the teams are rivals in play, Bailey pointed out there is some unison between the two adversaries this season. “It’s always going to be fun to play UT. We always have nail biters with them, so that’s always exciting,” Bailey said. “But we really are working with UT this year and helping each other out because everyone just wants to try and take down A&M.”
Bobcat returns from Nigeria after Olympic qualifiers
Cotton Miller/Star photo BALLIN’ ABROAD: Senior guard/forward Joyce Ekworomadu returns to Texas State after spending the last two weeks in Africa competing with the Nigerian national team.
By George Kiel Sports Reporter As the Bobcats prepare for the 2007-2008 women’s basketball season, an example of experience and leadership has returned to the team in the form of a well-respected player. Senior guard/forward Joyce Ekworomadu, the Bobcats captain and last season’s leading scorer, has been in Africa the past two weeks helping the Nigerian national team in the Olympic Qualifier. Now that she is back in San Marcos, Ekworomadu believes her time overseas was like none other. “Being over there, I had so much fun,” Ekworomadu said. “I realized that I really want to do that after I’m finished with school.” Ekworomadu played a huge role in helping her Nigerian team, starting every game and averaging 10 points per contest. Her team placed fifth in the qualifier, and eventually lost to Mozambique in the quarterfinals. While she admits Southland Conference basketball is very competitive, she said playing against national competition is very much a challenge in its own way. “It is a very high level of play,” Ekworomadu said. “Basketball over there is very intense and aggressive, and everybody’s talented.” Although playing with a talented crop of players, Ekworomadu thought she was able to hold her own. She credits her success with the national team to her Nigerian teammates. She said the help of her teammates made the transition to a new position, that of point guard, very easy. “My teammates helped me grow as a player, especially in learning a
new position,” Ekworomadu said. “They helped improve my basketball IQ and taught me how to be more vocal on the court.” The teammates she speaks of have played or are playing basketball all over the world. Her teammates come from many different schools, including DePaul, Baylor, Stanford and West Virginia. Ekworomadu said her teammates are very experienced and had much advice to offer. Though her teammates played a huge part in her success, she believes her coach for the qualifier facilitated her transition, as well. The coach Ekworomadu speaks very highly of is Kevin Cook, an assistant coach for the WNBA’s Houston Comets. Cook is a great teacher and has a proven track record that grabbed Ekworomadu’s respect. “Coach Cook has coached stars like Sheryl Swoopes and Cynthia Cooper,” Ekworomadu said. “He really helped me by teaching me some of the skills they use when he coached them.” Despite being busy with basketball during the qualifier, Ekworomadu said the team had a chance to visit historical islands, shop and interact with different cultures. As she switches gears back to Texas State basketball, Ekworomadu feels very confident in this year’s team and found her coaches and players missed her. “I feel it was a great experience for her,” said Coach Suzanne Fox. “She loves to play and compete, and I think it really helped her leadership qualities.” Sophomore guard Victoria Davis welcomed the return of her teammate as well. “This is what we need,” Davis said. “She is the spark on
It seems like it wasn’t that long ago I was sitting here writing an NBA Finals column, and all of a sudden here we are: Mid-October and preseason camps are in full swing across the league. Every season around this time, people who think they know something about basketball come up with all sorts of predictions on what’s going to happen in the league, only to be proven wrong year after year. Well guess what, I’m no different. So here we go. I love the preseason of all sports because most teams have a renewed sense of optimism, as do each of their respective fan bases. It’s no different here in Texas. Spurs, Rockets and Mavericks fans all have reason to be hopeful this coming season, and each with good reason. The Spurs are, well, the Spurs. Every season there’s always one or two teams that seem to play over their heads and get all the coverage and glory until around April, when all of a sudden San Antonio is in the Finals and everyone is like, “where did they come from?” The secret about the Spurs is there really is no secret. They do it each and every year just about the same way. They have good coaching with Greg Popovich, a legit star in Tim Duncan, top-end role players in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili and a deep bench. That’s a formula for sustained success. And until someone actually knocks off the Spurs when it counts, I’m not prepared to go against this equation when June rolls around. I’m sure Mavs fans were still reeling after Dallas was bounced by Golden State in the first round of the playoffs until the opening kickoff of the Cowboys season. It’s true, the Mavs are second-class in D-town and even Dirk Nowitzki, the face of the franchise, is only the 54th most popular athlete in Dallas, behind the 53 players on the Cowboys roster. But all kidding aside, the Mavs should be a force in the Western Conference again because much like the Spurs, little has changed, and that’s a good thing. Their central core is returning and should be just as good as last year but with a determination to eradicate the embarrassment of their 2006 playoff disaster. The other Texas team is truly the wild card out West, and the Rockets are going to be really interesting. At this time next year, they could be either defending champions or a team that is completely different from what it is now. They certainly have the talent to be considered among the best, it’s just a matter of if it all comes together for them. Can Yao and McGrady stay on the court together for a whole season? Probably not. Between T-Mac’s back and Yao’s propensity for freak accidents someone will go down at some point. It’s just a matter of how much time they miss and how the team plays without one, or both, players. They’ve made some moves fans should be excited about, like bringing back former guards Steve Francis and Mike James, and traded for Luis Scola, who could make a huge impact, just as fellow countryman Ginobili has for the Spurs. Plus, Rick Adelman’s up-tempo offense should help a team that was often stagnant under former coach Jeff Van Gundy. The big question for Houston will be can they go deep into the playoffs? Can this team, deep and loaded with talent, bring it all together and be healthy come playoff time? If not, and the Rockets don’t make it out of the first round, yet again, will fans and management decide to bail on T-Mac and go another way? Yeah, this is certainly going to be an interesting season across the league. But I honestly think the top three teams in the West this year, which by default are the best in the NBA, are right here in Texas. The Texas Triangle road trip is going to be deadly for visitors this year. It’s good to be a basketball fan in Texas right now, but we’ll just see how that works out next spring…