JimBob
03-30-2008, 08:01 AM
Sour Sixteen
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
3/30/2008
Riley's 26 points can't lift Cowgirls
NEW ORLEANS -- During the majority of Saturday's NCAA Sweet Sixteen clash with LSU, Andrea Riley was a solo artist.
Offensively, for 30 of the 40 game minutes, her Oklahoma State teammates contributed almost nothing.
OSU trailed 29-16 at halftime. Riley scored 13 of those 16 points. At one point during the second half, the Cowgirls overall had misfired on 40 of their 45 shot attempts from the field. Until the 14:12 mark of the second half, when Kristin Hernandez converted on a layup, Riley was the only OSU player to have scored from the field.
Statistically, LSU has the nation's best defense. Before a decidedly pro-LSU crowd at the New Orleans Arena, that defense was in full bloom against third-seeded Oklahoma State. As the second-seeded Lady Tigers emerged with a 67-52 victory, Lady Tiger point guard Erica White scored a season-high 18 points while 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles posted a stat line that included 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Riley ended her sophomore season by connecting on six 3-point shots and scoring 26 points. While she and White, LSU's defensive specialist, engaged in an extremely physical and anger-laced duel, the other four OSU starters -- Shaunte Smith, Taylor Hardeman, Maria Cordero and Danielle Green -- collectively mustered only 13 points on 5-of-26 shooting.
"This is the most emotional game I've seen our team play all year," said LSU coach Van Chancellor, whose team faces top-seeded North Carolina in Monday's regional championship game. On Saturday, North Carolina defeated fourth-seeded Louisville 78-74.
While the Cowgirls missed on shot after shot, LSU closed the first half with an 11-0 run. More than five minutes passed before Riley got OSU's first points of the second half, and by then it was too late. The Lady Tigers had built a 17-point cushion.
"I thought Sylvia might have struggled some on offense, but I thought she was dominant defensively," Chancellor said. "(The Cowgirls) couldn't get in the paint with anything. She had five blocks and probably about 10 more (shots) that she altered."
Said Fowles: "We wanted to make a run going into halftime. When things get going for us on defense, our offense just speaks for itself."
For the most part, the Cowgirls did sustain a high level of play at the defensive end. Fowles entered with a 17.2 scoring average, but against OSU's post defenders she had to work for her 12 points.
"We've got a lot of fight in us," OSU coach Kurt Budke said. "We're not going to go down easy."
The Cowgirls are finished at 27-8, while the Lady Tigers have reached the 30-win mark (30-5) for the fifth time in six seasons. LSU continues its quest to make a fifth consecutive Final Four appearance and capture its first national championship.
"We never gave up," said Riley, who fouled out of Saturday's game with 2:22 remaining. "You could see it in our eyes that we really wanted to win. But you have to make shots at some point in time."
By game's end, OSU was 19-of-69 (28 percent) on shots from the field. Riley was 9-of-28 overall from the field. Green had a 13.7 scoring average and normally connects on 49 percent of her shots. Against LSU, she was 1-of-8 shooting and managed two points.
"It was a tough night," said Green, a senior who played in her final college game.
Cordero, weakened by flu-like symptoms, was 0-of-4 from the field and played only 16 minutes.
Rattled by LSU's quickness and pressure, the Cowgirls committed 19 turnovers.
OSU's Smith was 3-of-10 shooting and committed seven turnovers, but also collected a career-high 18 rebounds -- two shy of matching the school record.
At the 10-minute mark of the second half, OSU's offense finally began to function. Baskets by Megan Byford, Hardeman and Green pulled the Cowgirls to within nine points (41-32). The Lady Tigers responded by scoring points on 11 of their next 12 possessions.
LSU guard RaShonta LeBlanc scored 11 of her 13 points during the second half.
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
3/30/2008
Riley's 26 points can't lift Cowgirls
NEW ORLEANS -- During the majority of Saturday's NCAA Sweet Sixteen clash with LSU, Andrea Riley was a solo artist.
Offensively, for 30 of the 40 game minutes, her Oklahoma State teammates contributed almost nothing.
OSU trailed 29-16 at halftime. Riley scored 13 of those 16 points. At one point during the second half, the Cowgirls overall had misfired on 40 of their 45 shot attempts from the field. Until the 14:12 mark of the second half, when Kristin Hernandez converted on a layup, Riley was the only OSU player to have scored from the field.
Statistically, LSU has the nation's best defense. Before a decidedly pro-LSU crowd at the New Orleans Arena, that defense was in full bloom against third-seeded Oklahoma State. As the second-seeded Lady Tigers emerged with a 67-52 victory, Lady Tiger point guard Erica White scored a season-high 18 points while 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles posted a stat line that included 12 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Riley ended her sophomore season by connecting on six 3-point shots and scoring 26 points. While she and White, LSU's defensive specialist, engaged in an extremely physical and anger-laced duel, the other four OSU starters -- Shaunte Smith, Taylor Hardeman, Maria Cordero and Danielle Green -- collectively mustered only 13 points on 5-of-26 shooting.
"This is the most emotional game I've seen our team play all year," said LSU coach Van Chancellor, whose team faces top-seeded North Carolina in Monday's regional championship game. On Saturday, North Carolina defeated fourth-seeded Louisville 78-74.
While the Cowgirls missed on shot after shot, LSU closed the first half with an 11-0 run. More than five minutes passed before Riley got OSU's first points of the second half, and by then it was too late. The Lady Tigers had built a 17-point cushion.
"I thought Sylvia might have struggled some on offense, but I thought she was dominant defensively," Chancellor said. "(The Cowgirls) couldn't get in the paint with anything. She had five blocks and probably about 10 more (shots) that she altered."
Said Fowles: "We wanted to make a run going into halftime. When things get going for us on defense, our offense just speaks for itself."
For the most part, the Cowgirls did sustain a high level of play at the defensive end. Fowles entered with a 17.2 scoring average, but against OSU's post defenders she had to work for her 12 points.
"We've got a lot of fight in us," OSU coach Kurt Budke said. "We're not going to go down easy."
The Cowgirls are finished at 27-8, while the Lady Tigers have reached the 30-win mark (30-5) for the fifth time in six seasons. LSU continues its quest to make a fifth consecutive Final Four appearance and capture its first national championship.
"We never gave up," said Riley, who fouled out of Saturday's game with 2:22 remaining. "You could see it in our eyes that we really wanted to win. But you have to make shots at some point in time."
By game's end, OSU was 19-of-69 (28 percent) on shots from the field. Riley was 9-of-28 overall from the field. Green had a 13.7 scoring average and normally connects on 49 percent of her shots. Against LSU, she was 1-of-8 shooting and managed two points.
"It was a tough night," said Green, a senior who played in her final college game.
Cordero, weakened by flu-like symptoms, was 0-of-4 from the field and played only 16 minutes.
Rattled by LSU's quickness and pressure, the Cowgirls committed 19 turnovers.
OSU's Smith was 3-of-10 shooting and committed seven turnovers, but also collected a career-high 18 rebounds -- two shy of matching the school record.
At the 10-minute mark of the second half, OSU's offense finally began to function. Baskets by Megan Byford, Hardeman and Green pulled the Cowgirls to within nine points (41-32). The Lady Tigers responded by scoring points on 11 of their next 12 possessions.
LSU guard RaShonta LeBlanc scored 11 of her 13 points during the second half.