11/13/2007 8:14:09 PM
STOCKTON --- Playing an exhibition game against a Division I program, the Cal State Stanislaus women’s basketball team definitely found out what it will have to do in the next two days to prepare for the season opener on Friday.
Turnovers and poor shooting allowed the University of the Pacific Tigers to run all over the Warriors as UOP defeated CSU Stanislaus, 96-55, Tuesday night at the Alex G. Spanos Center.
Amy VanHollebeke had 22 points and six assists and Andrea Swanson added 16 points and pulled 11 boards to lead the Tigers.
Shirsty Kumar led the Warriors with 14 points, including four three-pointers, and Lysandra Williams added 11. Freshman Katie Busi had 10 points and team-high five rebounds. Christin Gowan chipped in seven points.
“The biggest thing was that they have to play hard all the time and play aggressive,” CSUS head coach Sharon Turner-Dean said. “That’s one of the things you learn when you play a Division I team in exhibition.”
While the game counted for Pacific (2-0), it is an exhibition contest for the Warriors before they begin the regular season this Friday. CSUS hosts the Eva Schicke Memorial Classic presented by Stanislaus Farm Supply this weekend with the Warriors opening against Northwest Nazarene Friday night at 7:30.
The Warriors shot just 34.6 percent and committed 30 turnovers while being out-rebounded 54-28. Stanislaus was also just 14 of 25 from the free throw line. Defensively, CSUS gave up 20 fast break points and allowed 23 offensive rebounds.
“We didn’t box-out and if you stand straight up and someone goes over you you are not going to get the calls,” Turner-Dean said.
A sluggish start allowed Pacific to take an early lead with points in transition. The Warriors hung close early thanks to poor early shooting by UOP and some three pointers by the Warriors.
Stanislaus tied the game at 13-13 with a Kumar three-pointer and a Busi lay-up, however Pacific went on a 10-0 run to turn it into a 23-13 lead. UOP then took advantage of a CSUS offensive dry-spill to take a 34-18 lead when the Warriors managed to score just five points in the next eight minutes.
After a poor shooting start, the Tigers warmed up to a 48.1 percentage to take a 43-22 halftime lead behind 11 points from VanHollebeke. Helping the cause for UOP was 12 fast-break points and 20 points in the paint.
Foul trouble didn’t help the Warriors either. Two-time All-CCAA forward Gwendolyn Page had five points and two rebounds in the first half before picking up her fourth foul 33 seconds prior to the end of the first half. Williams and Busi both had three fouls in the first half.
Taking a positive out of the night, Turner-Dean thought Busi played well in her first game. “I thought Katie did some good things and she’s going to get a lot better because she’s just a freshman.”