Gorillas open season with win over ranked opponent
Josh Letner
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports
The Gorilla women's basketball team kicked off the 2009-2010 season in style with a 70-69 win over the University of Central Oklahoma Bronchos last Sunday, Nov. 15, at John Lance Arena.
Senior guard DePrice Taylor scored the game-winning points on a three-point play with just nine seconds remaining. After driving into the lane, Taylor made a game-tying layup despite being fouled, then, following a UCO timeout, Taylor coolly knocked down the game-winning free throw for her only points of the night.
"She's a go-to player for us, as she's proven in the past," PSU coach Lane Lord said. "She did what senior leaders do, she made a play down the stretch on a great individual move."
The magnitude of Taylor's heroics is amplified by the fact that she had only practiced one day since suffering a knee injury in an exhibition loss at Nebraska on Nov. 3.
Taylor's heroics were set up by the clutch shooting of freshman Drew Roberts who sank two successive threes, keeping Pitt within striking distance. Roberts finished with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
"When we played the Big XII teams in our exhibition, after those three games, she was our leading scorer, so after those three games we knew she was a special player," Lord said. "But to be a freshman and come in and hit two money shots like she did, one to get us within one and one to put us up one, was an outstanding individual effort and shows that she's got that swagger and she's not afraid to make plays."
The Gorillas had two players log double-doubles in the contest. Senior point guard Maya Onikute led the Gorillas with 20 points and 10 boards. Although Onikute is a new face to PSU, she is very familiar to Lord.
"I coached Maya in junior college and she started for me there," Lord said. "She played a year at Houston, and played there, and she's actually been out of basketball for two years and her rust showed a little bit with the eight turnovers, but she's always been a great rebounder at the point position and she's got great athleticism."
Senior guard DePrice Taylor scored the game-winning points on a three-point play with just nine seconds remaining. After driving into the lane, Taylor made a game-tying layup despite being fouled, then, following a UCO timeout, Taylor coolly knocked down the game-winning free throw for her only points of the night.
"She's a go-to player for us, as she's proven in the past," PSU coach Lane Lord said. "She did what senior leaders do, she made a play down the stretch on a great individual move."
The magnitude of Taylor's heroics is amplified by the fact that she had only practiced one day since suffering a knee injury in an exhibition loss at Nebraska on Nov. 3.
Taylor's heroics were set up by the clutch shooting of freshman Drew Roberts who sank two successive threes, keeping Pitt within striking distance. Roberts finished with 19 points on 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc.
"When we played the Big XII teams in our exhibition, after those three games, she was our leading scorer, so after those three games we knew she was a special player," Lord said. "But to be a freshman and come in and hit two money shots like she did, one to get us within one and one to put us up one, was an outstanding individual effort and shows that she's got that swagger and she's not afraid to make plays."
The Gorillas had two players log double-doubles in the contest. Senior point guard Maya Onikute led the Gorillas with 20 points and 10 boards. Although Onikute is a new face to PSU, she is very familiar to Lord.
"I coached Maya in junior college and she started for me there," Lord said. "She played a year at Houston, and played there, and she's actually been out of basketball for two years and her rust showed a little bit with the eight turnovers, but she's always been a great rebounder at the point position and she's got great athleticism."
Be the first to comment on this story