Before the season started, Texas and Texas Tech were picked to finish second and third in the Big 12. They were ranked 12th and 13th in the first AP poll. They have both had rough starts.
Tech's first month has been downright disastrous. At 2-4, they limped into the Happy Valley yesterday to face a weak Penn State squad.
Much of the nationally-televised game was ugly. The Raiders scored only 16 points in the first half. The teams combined shot 32% in regulation. Listening to Nancy Lieberman kiss Rene Portland's ass (oh, the irony!) was probably too much for many viewers. And Tennessee-Stanford was on Fox.
But the end got crazy. Erin Grant hit a three then a two to tie the game in the last minute. At the end of OT, she made the best play of the WCBB year — with 3.2 seconds, she got the ball, ran the floor, and pulled up for another three to tie the game again. In the second OT, however, the Lions pulled away. Kamela Gissendanner (who?) couldn't be stopped; she hit shot after shot and won the game.
Tech coach Marsha Sharp was proud of the comeback effort. But the result was the same, and the Raiders early-season woes continued.
Texas's slow start, while not as bad as Tech's, has been more puzzling. With Jackson, Norman, and Arriaran, among others, the Horns are loaded with talent. But they haven't looked like a top team yet; they fell to the Lobos, beat South Carolina and GW by slim margins, and lost their pants in Knoxville.
Yesterday, Texas hosted Duke. The Horns looked solid for most of the game, finally playing the way you'd expect, but they couldn't hang on — the Devils pulled away in the final nine minutes.
"We fought hard and just couldn't finish the job," coach Conradt said. "I wanted the team to play with determination, courage and fight. I'll give them an 'A' in all those categories."
(Carla Cortijo, my new favorite player in all of women's basketball, didn't shoot well but was still incredibly fun to watch.)
Texas may be poised to pull everything together. Tech, on the other hand, may be in for a long season. Erin Grant is capable of heroics... but she can't beat good teams (or even so-so teams) on her own.
Tech's first month has been downright disastrous. At 2-4, they limped into the Happy Valley yesterday to face a weak Penn State squad.
Much of the nationally-televised game was ugly. The Raiders scored only 16 points in the first half. The teams combined shot 32% in regulation. Listening to Nancy Lieberman kiss Rene Portland's ass (oh, the irony!) was probably too much for many viewers. And Tennessee-Stanford was on Fox.
But the end got crazy. Erin Grant hit a three then a two to tie the game in the last minute. At the end of OT, she made the best play of the WCBB year — with 3.2 seconds, she got the ball, ran the floor, and pulled up for another three to tie the game again. In the second OT, however, the Lions pulled away. Kamela Gissendanner (who?) couldn't be stopped; she hit shot after shot and won the game.
Tech coach Marsha Sharp was proud of the comeback effort. But the result was the same, and the Raiders early-season woes continued.
Texas's slow start, while not as bad as Tech's, has been more puzzling. With Jackson, Norman, and Arriaran, among others, the Horns are loaded with talent. But they haven't looked like a top team yet; they fell to the Lobos, beat South Carolina and GW by slim margins, and lost their pants in Knoxville.
Yesterday, Texas hosted Duke. The Horns looked solid for most of the game, finally playing the way you'd expect, but they couldn't hang on — the Devils pulled away in the final nine minutes.
"We fought hard and just couldn't finish the job," coach Conradt said. "I wanted the team to play with determination, courage and fight. I'll give them an 'A' in all those categories."
(Carla Cortijo, my new favorite player in all of women's basketball, didn't shoot well but was still incredibly fun to watch.)
Texas may be poised to pull everything together. Tech, on the other hand, may be in for a long season. Erin Grant is capable of heroics... but she can't beat good teams (or even so-so teams) on her own.
posted by Ted at 6:28 AM
