Mean Green women’s basketball falls to Oklahoma State
Ehsan Azad / Staff Writer
Down by four points with five minutes left in the first half, the Mean Green women’s basketball team put up a fight with No. 19 Oklahoma State University but ended up with a blowout loss, 95-47.
The first half was marked by turnovers by both teams, helping UNT (3-4) capitalize and score easy points in transition. But the rebounding numbers were too big to overcome as Oklahoma State (7-0) beat the Mean Green on the boards 63-35.
“We need to block out,” head coach Mike Petersen said. “I know that sounds like its oversimplifying it, but frankly, we need to block out.”
OSU grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the first half. Sophomore forward and Alexis Hyder also struggled to get going while dealing with an ankle injury. She finished with just two points and five rebounds.
It was only a five-point OSU lead for much of the first half, but the lead soared to 20 by the end of the half.
“Our press was disruptive and was giving them trouble, but even at that point they were really getting after us on the boards,” Petersen said. “If we were rebounding the ball well in the first 15 minutes, we would have had a pretty substantial lead.”
One of the bright spots for the team was freshman guard Candice Adams, who had a season-high nine points, making four of her nine shots. But as a team, UNT shot 28.8% for the game and only 15.8% for three.
“We need to come out with a sense of energy, locate shooters and rebound better,” Adams said.
Though effort is a big reason why the rebounding numbers are down, junior forward Briesha Wynn offered other solutions for the team’s woes.
“Honestly, we could have a lot more offensive input from our players,” Wynn said. “Tonight, we didn’t capitalize on the missed shots.”
Petersen’s message to his team was to move on and get ready for a metroplex rival on Wednesday – the University of Texas at Arlington.
“We spend any time pouting about this, this game will cost us two games,” Petersen said. “Frankly I am going to burn the videotape of this game.”
The game is at 7 p.m. at the College Park Center in Arlington.
Feature photo: Junior forward Briesha Wynn dribbles the ball while blocking an Abilene Christian University opponent during a home game on Nov. 23 at the Super Pit. Photo by Harris Buchanan / Staff Photographer
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