Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Islanders to face Pioneers

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Sunday, December 31, 2000

Islanders to face Pioneers
A&M-CC attempting to keep streak alive
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
DENVER - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team is feeling good about itself again and with good reason.
   After going through a slump earlier in the month that saw them lose four out of five, the Islanders rebounded and have put together its two biggest blowout wins of the season.
   A&M-Corpus Christi (7-6) was impressive in its 27-point win over Jacksonville before Christmas and its 26-point win against Air Force on Thursday, but now it will face a serious test at Denver at 3 p.m. today.
   Denver's 7-4 record isn't that astounding, but its four losses all came against stiff competition. Two of the Pioneers' losses came against Texas, which is ranked No. 15 in the latest Associated Press poll. Denver's other two losses were to Baylor and Western Kentucky.
   "I'm very pleased with the way we've been playing lately, but we'll get a real test when we play Denver," Islander coach Sheryl Estes said. "They're a very talented team, so we'll have our work cut out for us."
   A&M-Corpus Christi will have to work especially hard to slow down Denver's primary weapon, 6-foot-3 Michaela Pavlickova. Pavlickova has dominated in the post this season for the Pioneers, averaging 17.8 points and 9 rebounds per game.
   Pavlickova is complemented by speedy point guard Nikki Weddle, which gives Denver a strong inside-out combination. While Pavlickova does damage inside, Weddle wreaks havoc on the perimeter where she's shooting 37 percent from the 3-point line and averaging 14.3 points per game.
   "Their big player is great; she has a lot of WNBA teams looking at her," Estes said. "Nikki Weddle is really quick. She's an explosive type point guard, and she'll be hard to stop, too. We're going to have to do some different things on defense to try to collapse on the post player, but still be able to contain Nikki Weddle."
   A&M-Corpus Christi has had a formidable inside game all season with Kristin Rogers, Jean Clark and Detra Johnson all scoring in double digits, but the Islanders may have found a new outside threat in Jessie Monlux.
   After playing sparingly much of the season, Monlux came off the bench to score a career-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers, against Air Force. Monlux hopes her breakout performance is enough to earn her some quality minutes for the rest of the season.
   "During the Christmas break, I worked out pretty hard and wanted to come back and prove to coach that I can be a reliable player for her," Monlux said. "The game against Air Force should definitely be a confidence booster for me for th enext few games and hopefully the rest of the season."



Staff writer Matt Young can be reached at 886-3702 or by e-mail at youngm@caller.com

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