The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 14, 2007 Page: 5 of 6
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Sports
February 14, 2007 5
Quick Quotes
"Champions aren V
made in the gyms.
Champions are made
frdm something they
have deep inside them—
d desire, a dream, a
vision.
Sports Trivia
■Last week's question...
Q.Who was the only
college football player
to win the Heisman tro-
phy twice?
A. Ohio State running
back Archie Griffin won
it as a junior and senior.
This-week's question ...
Q. Who was the first
Chinese player to play
in an NBA game?
A. Next time the paper
is published, you will
find out. Hint: The year
was 2001.
Don't forget to chock out
www.txwes.edu/athlctics
- - for the latest game
information
Around the
wide world of
sports ...
• Mavericks forward
Josh Howard was
named to the
Western Conference
all-star team, replac-
ing injured Utah
Jazz forward Carlos
Boozer.
'• After 18 days of
interviewing candi-
dates, Cowboys'
• general manager
Jerry Jones
announces that
Wade Phillips will
be the new head
coach of the team,
replacing the recent-
lvretired Bill
Parcel Is.
Get paid.
Lady Rams survive late comeback
-Muhammad Ali
American Boxer
V
*
Photo courtesy of sports information office
Junior forward Britannia Champion Hies to the basket during the
Lady Rams 54-46 victory over the Lions of Southwestern Assemblies of
God. Champion supplied eight points and five boards in the contest.
On the season, Champion is avering 5.4 PPG and 4.3 boards per game.
WOMI VS HASkl I HAI I
Jack Walker
STAFF WRITER
The Texas Wesleyan Lady Rams may not have a shining record this basketball sea-
son, but don't let that fool you into thinking this season has been a down year.
The Lady Rams have a 9-13 record overall and are 6-5 in conference play. They're
coming off a victory Feb. 10 victory against Conference rival Southwestern Assemblies
of God (4-14, 1-11).
The victory marked the Lady Rams' fifth win in six games and serves as proof that
the women are improving as the season draws nearer to crunch time.
With the playoffs approaching, head coach _________________________
Stacy Francis knows the team has taken an alter-
nate route to get where they are today.
"My expectations for this year are not going
according to plan," said Francis. "But I have seen
an improvement these last few games as a team.
The performance level is better."
In their recent win over SAGU, the game was
close throughout the first half, but a 6-0 run
halfway through the period afforded the Lady —————————————
Rams a 27-20 advantage going into the half.
In the second half, Wesleyan was fueled by the play of junior forward Britannia
Champion, who ignited an 8-0 run to increase their lead to 43-27 with just 10 minutes
to play.
Champion finished the game with eight points and five boards. Senior guard
Nastassia Brown contributed 10 points and 10 boards to finish with a double-double.
The women also out-rebounded SAGU 41-32 and converted 27 Lion turnovers into 23
points.
At this point in the season last year, the Lady Rams were 9-9 overall and 7-3 in
RRAC play.
"Unfortunately the difference [between this year's team and last year's team] is
chemistry," said Francis. "We're struggling to find chemistry as a team, and it's affect-
ing us on the court. We could play much better, but we need to find chemistry and gel
as a team to do so."
The Lady Rams are back on the court in Fort Worth on Feb. 14 at 5:30 p.m. when
they play host to the Rams of Huston-Tillotson University.
"Unfortunately the differ-
ence I between this year's
team and last year's team I
is chemistry."
— Stacy Francis
Head Coach of Wesleyan
Women s Basketball
At the midpoint, Mavs in
position to be No. 1 seed
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Wyi.ik
Write for The Rambler1
twurqtnblerfyyahoo.com
Photo courtesy of m h a,.\ carcthepostmcn com
Mavericks' forward Dirk Nowitzki
has led Dallas to a 42-9 record, the
best in the NBA.
or the Dallas
_ Mavericks,
the summer of
2006 was one of
Ielation but also
of bewilderment
and dismay. It
was one of
those times that
should be
__________ remembered
because of what happened but, by
the same token, should be forgot-
ten because of the outcome of
those events.
for most, a western confer-
ence championship banner hang-
ing from the rafters is a jrcat
feeling, one of accomplishment
and of teamwork.
However, that banner serves
as a reminder of shortcomings
down the stretch. It symbolizes
how great last year's team was,
but how they faltered and never
regained control of the NBA
fi nals.
Most importantly, though, it
works as a motivational factor.
With each glance at the roof of
the American Airlines Center, it is
almost certain that Avery reminds
his team of how much stronger his
team needs to be physically as
well as mentally.
And judging from the team's
performance up to the all-star
break, whatever The Little
General has said to light a fire
under his team has indeed
worked.
As of press time, the
Mavericks boast an NBA best
record of 42-9 and have secured a
nine-game lead over the hated
lntcrstate-35 rival San Antonio
Spurs. The Mavs have also edged
their lead in the conference rank-
ings to a mere three games over
the Phoenix Suns. And with the
injured shoulder of reigning MVP
Steve Nash, the Mavericks have a
good chance of pushing that lead
to four games Feb. 14 when the
Suns play the Seattle Supersonics
... without Steve Nash for the
fourth game in a row.
According to the Suns' Web
site (www.sttns.com), Nash's
shoulder injury is going to keep
Nash out of the all-star game later
this month, but two players who
will play on the West's squad are
forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Josh
Howard, both of whom have been
extraordinary for the Mavs this
season.
Nowitzki was a no-brainer for
the game, averaging 25 points and
nearly 10 assists per game. The
leader of the Mavericks has
missed only one game this season
and has started every game in
which he has played.
Howard was selected as one of
two players to replace injured
selections to the team. The for-
ward. in his third season out of
Wake Forest, was selected to
replace the injured Carlos Boozer
from Utah. In 41 games this sea-
son (Howard missed 10 games
earlier in the season due to
injury), Josh has averaged 19.5
points and 7.2 dimes per game.
Fortunately for the Mavericks,
more than the aforementioned
Nowitzki and Howard have been
contributing meaningful minutes
and stats to the games.
Jason Eugene Terry, a.k.a.
"The Jet," has played a huge role
in the success of the Mavs this
season, but also in his first two
seasons with the team. Jet's 42
percent mark from three-point
range just edges out Dirk's 41
percent mark. And to see who is
better, Nowitzki will defend his
title at the three-point contest
against, among others. Jet. whom
Nowitzki beat out last year.
Not to be excluded from the
list of players who have con-
tributed significant efforts to the
team are veterans Devean George
of Los Angeles Lakers' fame,
Greg Buckner, who is on his sec-
ond swim through Dallas and one
of the most noticeable young stars
of this team. Devin Harris. Harris
is finding a lot of playing time
(about 26 minutes per game) at
the guard position, creating a
pretty swift duo in the Mavs'
backcourt with his partner in
crime, Jason Terry.
Mixed in with all of this vet-
eran talent, the Mavericks have a
core group of young players who
are set to take over when this
team starts to lose its older play-
ers.
The Mavs' first round pick of
the 2006 draft, Maurice Ager,
leads a talented group of young
players, including rookie J.J.
Barea and rookie Pops Mensah-
Bonsu. All three have seen exten-
sive playing time with the
Mavericks' D-Lcague team, the
Fort Worth Flyers, and all have
been very impressive while play-
ing in Fort Worth. Barea spent
eight games with the Flyers and
averaged 27.3 PPG, Mensah-
Bonsu with 15 PPG in 19 appear-
ances and Ager closing out the
trio with 14 PPG in nine games
this season.
These three young players not
only contribute with points and
rebounds, but the intangibles off
the court are impressive. During
my internship with the Flyers. I
interacted with all three players
on multiple occasions. Each and
every time I encountered one of
the players, they were doing
something to improve their game
or something to involve the fans.
And from what I could tell during
the games, all stepped up to the
leadership role and were the vocal
and emotional leaders on the court
and on the bench.
So with only two games to go
until the all-star break, the
Mavericks could enter the break
with a nine-game winning streak
in hand. After the break, the only
team standing between the
Mavericks and a double-digit win-
ning streak for the third time this
season is the Miami Heat.
If you're not familiar with the
Miami Heat, and I don't think
there are many Mavs fans who
don't know who they are. they are
the team that rallied to win four
straight games against Dallas in
the 2006 NBA Finals.
Sitting in a suite for game one
of the NBA Finals was an experi-
ence that I hope isn't one in a
lifetime. But sitting in the suite
for game six of the finals is one
experience I hope I never have to
relive again.
Unfortunately, if the Mavs do
happen to find themselves in the
Finals again, they would probably
not get the chance to exact
revenge on the Heat, provided
Miami stays in ninth place in the
East and misses the playoffs.
Fortunately the season doesn't
end today, and we can all hope to
see the Heat in the finals. I'm
sure the outcome will be different
this time, though.
Chad Wylie is a senior mass communi-
cation major and is editor-in-chief for The
Rambler.
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Wylie, Chad. The Rambler (Fort Worth, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 4, Ed. 1 Wednesday, February 14, 2007, newspaper, February 14, 2007; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth253385/m1/5/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Texas Wesleyan University.