Women’s Basketball Hits The Hardwood Again Sunday Afternoon – Ohio State Buckeyes
12/11/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 1999
The Tip
Sunday’s game is the first-ever meeting between the Buckeyes and the Peahens. The two schools are a sharp contrast in styles. Ohio State is one of the biggest public universities in the country. Saint Peter’s is a private Jesuit College located in Jersey City, New Jersey.
The Buckeyes enter the game riding a modest two-game winning streak following a 62-61 victory over Cleveland State Thursday evening.
Coach Beth Burns
Entering her 11th career season, her third at Ohio State, Coach Beth Burns continues to guide the program to success both on and off the court. Last season, Burns guided the Scarlet & Gray contingent to a 17-12 campaign and to its first NCAA tournament in three years. In addition, a 9-7, fourth-place finish in the league marked Ohio State’s best effort since its 1993 Big Ten Championship run.
Academically, six returnees earned OSU Scholar-Athletes laurels with two tabbing academic all-Big Ten laurels.
Burns took over the program in April 1997, leaving a successful, well-respected career at San Diego State where she was three times selected the WAC Coach of the Year (1994, ‘95, ‘97). Burns has earned a record of 36-26 (.580) as a Buckeye and is 187-108 (.634) for her career.
On Ohio State
Freshman center LaToya Turner hit a short jumper with 1.4 seconds remaining as Ohio State rallied to defeat Cleveland State, 62-61, Thursday night in Value City Arena.
Cleveland State (4-2) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to take the lead on two free throws from Nicole Baptiste with 11 seconds left.
After an Ohio State timeout, Laura Ingham lobbed the ball into Turner who banked in a short jumper while being fouled by Baptiste. Turner missed the free throw but the Buckeyes were able to run the clock out to preserve the win and snap the Vikings’ four-game winning streak. Ohio State (4-2) was paced by freshman Courtney Coleman’s 13-point, five-rebound performance. Twelve of her points came in the first half. Captains Courtney Bale and Michaela Moua added 12 points apiece.
Audra Cook paced Cleveland State with game-highs of 17 points and 15 caroms.
Buckeye Bits
Ohio State improves to 4-2 on the season with the 62-61 defeat of Cleveland State. The Vikings fall to 4-2 this year. OSU now leads the all-time series between the two squads 3-0.
Courtney Coleman scored 13 points, just one off her career high, over a 14-minute stint. She also grabbed a career-best five boards. Twelve of her points came in the first half.
Courtney Bale scored an OSU career-high 12 points while adding seven rebounds. Bale’s career-high point total is 18, set while at San Diego State vs. Hawaii (2/3/98).
Michaela Moua tallied 12 points in the contest, her sixth straight game this season in double figures. She also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, which is a season best.
Jamie Lewis dished out three assists in the contest, giving her 296 for her career, which moves her past Liana Coutts (295) into ninth place all-time. Lewis is one assist behind Alysiah Bond who posted 297 from 1992-95.
Audra Cook’s 17-point, 15-rebound performance is the sixth double-double performance in the history of Value City Arena. The 15 boards sets a record at VCA, breaking the previous mark of 14, set by Penn State’s Clara Carter last year.
Instate Record
With Thursday’s win over Cleveland State (62-61), the Buckeyes are now 3-1 against instate schools under the guidance of third-year head coach Beth Burns. Ohio State downed Bowling Geen, 86-56, a week ago. In back-to-back seasons, Ohio State split against the Xavier Musketeers, winning 77-63 in November 1997 and losing 68-63 a year ago in Value City Arena.
Burns On Cleveland State
“Many people have asked me who would take the last shot for this team. For a while there I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to take the last shot for us. I think that’s expected where we have people, even though they’re veteran people, who have different roles.
“I can’t say enough about Laura Ingham. I know she made a lot of different mistakes, but she’s never been in this situation before and we haven’t had that play in for very long. To be able to make that kind of pass with that kind of pressure, credit LaToya (Turner) with the catch and shoot, but that is a heck of a pass that you have to make to make that happen.
“This was exciting in the respect that whenever you can learn with a win, even though you made a lot of mistakes, and still come out win, it’s a good thing.
“All the credit goes to Cleveland State. They were very, very tough.”
Peahen Coach Mike Granelli
Mike Granelli is in his 28th year at Saint Peter’s, totalling over 500 career wins (518-196). Entering the season, he ranked ninth among Division I basketball coaches in wins and was 23rd in winning percentage (.725). He earned Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year accolades last season after leading his squad to its fifth NCAA tournament bid. His teams have recorded at least 20 wins in 16 of the last 21 seasons.
Scouting Saint Peter’s
The Peahens are coming off a season where they were 25-6 overall and won the MAAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The squad is 5-1 on the year having defeated Rider 58-56 Wednesday evening before traveling to Columbus. Senior Lawanda Greene, a 5-8 guard/forward, is leading the squad in scoring (12.7 ppg). An All-MAAC first-team selection last season, Mercy Aghedo, a 6-2 senior center, is first on the team in rebounding with 9.7 boards per game. She recorded a double-double against Maryland-Eastern Shore, scoring 16 points and adding 14 rebounds. Yolanda Daniels, a 5-8 senior guard/forward, is second in scoring with 11.0 points per contest.
A Familiar Face
Saint Peter’s leading scorer Lawanda Greene should look familiar to many longtime Ohio State fans. The Bronx, N.Y., native played her entire freshman season with Ohio State and four games in her sophomore year. She played in 15 games as a Buckeye. For the Peahens, she has become their leading scorer averaging 12.7 points per game. She also has a team high 24 assists.
The MAAC
The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference is comprised of nine universities in New York, New Jersey and Maryland. In addition to Saint Peter’s, the schools in the league include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Loyola College (MD), Manhattan College, Marist College, Niagara University, Rider University and Siena College. The MAAC sponors 24 championship sports.
The OSU Connection
Senior center Marcy Aghedo attended the same high school as Brian Brown and Will Dudley of the Ohio State men’s basketball team. The trio attended Bishop Loughlin High School in Queens, N.Y.
Turner To Win
Freshman center LaToya Turner is quickly showing onlookers why she was hailed as one of the elite centers (No. 2) in high school basketball last year. Averaging 17.3 minutes per game, 21.7 in the last three, the 6-4 standout nullified what was otherwise an off-night shooting performance (3-of-7 FGs) with the game-winning bucket vs. Cleveland State Thursday. Turner ranks third on the scoring (8.3 ppg) and rebounding (4.2 rpg) ladders, and first in blocks with six on the year. In just her second start of the season vs. Bowling Green, Turner posted career highs of 14 points (7-of-9 FGs) and seven rebounds, performances not bad for an individual who underwent surgery in both April and October to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
Moua Rolling Along
Forward Michaela Moua marked her sixth consecutive start, the longest of her career vs. Cleveland State. In that role, she has recorded double figures in every game, another career best, to top the Buckeye scoring ledger, averaging 15.5 ppg. The Vantaa, Finland, native ranks ninth in league scoring and second in field goal percentage, shooting 61.0 percent. On the national level, Moua’s shooting proficiency ranked 14th.
Let ‘Em Play
Showcasing five freshmen in the 1999-2000 appears to be no problem for head coach Beth Burns who has played each member of the Class of 2003 frequently and without hesitation. Four of five freshmen have played in every game with the unit playing in nearly a third of the overall minutes clocked. Guard Tanya McClure and center LaToya Turner lead the pack, averaging 17.8 and 17.3 minutes, respectively.
Bale’s Balancing Act
Courtney Bale is collecting a team-leading 6.5 rebounds per game but more importantly, the 6-4 junior from San Diego State is compiling the boards with nearly equal effort at both ends of the floor. Of her 39 caroms, Bale has cleared 18 at the offensive end, including seven her last time out vs. the Vikings. A transfer from San Diego State, Bale enjoyed similar success two years ago as an Aztec, averaging a team-high 11.3 rpg.
Climbing The Ladder
Look for junior guard Jamie Lewis to continue her assault on the Ohio State career assists ladder. In 1998, she marked the third all-time single season record for assists, threading a freshman record 159 on the year. Last season, the 5-4 playmaker dished out 120 assists, eclipsing Geneva Sanford’s sophomore record of 119. Lewis distributed three vs. Cleveland State to move into ninth place on the all-time roster with 296.
Buckeye All-Star
For Lauren Shenk, the summer of 1999 was anything but typical. The 5-10 sophomore guard enjoyed the fruits of a four-game exhibition tour in Belgium and Germany as a member of the Big Ten All-Star Team. The unit posted a 3-1 record with Shenk pacing the scoring effort with an 11.0 scoring clip. The long-range shooting talent tied the Buckeye freshman record for three-pointers last season, draining 43 on the year. Shenk ranked third in the league in shooting proficiency with a clip of .382 and sank a trey in 23-of-28 games, including a Value City Arena record 5-of-7 performance vs. Illinois Jan. 8.
Scholar-Athletes
Six returning members of the Buckeye Basketball team attained scholar-athlete laurels last season. Senior Michaela Moua, juniors Courtney Bale and Mandy Stanhope, and sophomores Tomeka Brown, Laura Ingham and Lauren Shenk all earned OSU Scholar-Athlete honors, maintaining GPAs of 3.0 and higher. Moua and Stanhope also tabbed Academic all-Big Ten recognition.
We’re No. 2
In just two seasons, Coach Beth Burns’ talent as a top-notch recruiter has resulted in her securing the No. 2-ranked freshman class in the country. The all-Ohio class consist of two nationally-ranked players in 6-4 center LaToya Turner (Pickerington High School) and 5-4 point guard Tanya McClure (Gahanna-Lincoln) who were hailed at No. 2 and No. 7, respectively at their positions. Forward DiDi Reynolds, 6-1, reigns as the Division IV Player of the Year out of Hopewell-Loudon. Also joining the frontcourt are Ohio Capital Conference standout D’wan Shackleford, 6-0, and Courtney Coleman, 6-2, of Cincinnati Hughes who ranked sixth in the state last year, collecting 15.9 caroms per game.
Buckeye Class of 2000
Head Coach Beth Burns has again secured a segment of the nation’s top high school talent in assembling her 1999 fall recruiting class, signing Ohioans Caity Matter, a 5-10 guard, and 6-3 forward Emily Haynam.
Matter, a First Team all-Ohio selection and the Division III Player of the Year, enters her senior campaign with a 26.0 ppg scoring average. Ranked No. 18 nationally by the All-Star Girls Report (ASGR), Matter is a pure shooter who owns every offensive record of the Pirates’.
Haynam averaged 12.8 points, 4.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game as a junior, and led the Ohio Capital Conference (OCC), collecting 9.8 rebounds per game for the Wildcats. Ranked No. 91 by ASGR, she is a first team all-OCC selection and earned honorable mention all-District laurels.
