Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Denver’s victory over A&M-CC pushes win streak to 5 games

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Monday, January 1, 2001

Denver’s victory over A&M-CC pushes win streak to 5 games
Pioneers back on track after some early-season setbacks
By Matt Young
Caller-Times
DENVER - After starting the season with a 3-4 record, the Denver women's basketball team has begun playing the way the preseason prognosticators thought it would.
   The Pioneers' 64-49 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sunday at Magness Arena gave them a five-game winning streak and has them riding a wave of confidence that they hope leads to a Sun Belt Conference title.
   Denver had struggled with its confidence after playing a tough early schedule, which included two games against nationally-ranked Texas.
   "Hopefully we have our confidence back now, because we have a lot of big goals to accomplish," Denver coach Pam Tanner said. "This conference is wide open this year, moreso than it's ever been in the Sun Belt. I think we have a great shot to end up on top of the conference at the end of the year."
   That's saying a lot, considering that No. 9 Louisiana Tech is pretty much considered a lock for the conference title nearly every season.
   "Louisiana Tech is having another great year, but they've lost some key players from last year, and they've had some injuries that have dwindled their numbers," Tanner said. "There's no doubt that Louisiana Tech is everyone's pick to win it, but we think we have a good shot, too."

ANOTHER NEW LOOK: A&M-Corpus Christi tried another new starting lineup Sunday.
   This time A&M-Corpus Christi coach Sheryl Estes had leading scorer Kristin Rogers come off the bench and Detra Johnson start in her place.
   Estes said she's tried several different lineups to try to find a spark for her team early in games.
   "We haven't come out with the right amount of intensity to start a game in a long time," Estes said. "It's not for a lack of trying on our parts though. We've tried different combinations to start games, and none of them have worked."

SURPRISE, SURPRISE: Going into Sunday's game, the Islanders knew they needed to contain Denver center Michaela Pavlickova and point guard Nikki Weddle, but they weren't as aware of Ashley Atkinson.
   Before Sunday's game, Atkinson had made just six of her 36 3-point attempts. Against the Islanders, Atkinson drilled five of nine and finished with a game-high 18 points.
   "We knew they had a good shooting team, but we certainly weren't expecting her to be the one making all the outside shots," Estes said.



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

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