UW EXHIBITS PROMISE IN WIN MOORE SCORES 20; NINA SMITH HAS 13 IN DEBUT
Wisconsin State Journal
Madison
Nov 10, 1999
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Authors: Jon Masson Sports reporter
Beforehand, University of Wisconsin women's basketball coach Jane Albright
said she was less concerned about the outcome of Tuesday night's exhibition
opener than with how her team rebounded, played defense and took care of
the ball.
But how her team responded in the final minutes of the Badgers' 76- 66
victory over Athletes in Action proved significant to Albright.
"At the end of the game, when it comes down to the last six minutes, it's
very important to win," Albright said. "I think we've got six players that
are capable of playing at the level we need them to. . . . When we needed
to do the things, we did them. I was really proud of that."
Sophomore guard-forward Tamara Moore led the Badgers with a game- high
20 points, going 7-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free-throw
line before an announced crowd of 7,248 at the Kohl Center.
Moore is part of the six-player starting rotation Albright will use in
the first six games of the season. The others are point guard Dee Dee Pate,
who had five of UW's 13 steals; off-guard Kelley Paulus, who sank two key
three-point shots early in the second half; forward LaTonya Sims, who scored
15 points; forward Jessie Stomski, who had a game-high 14 rebounds; and
heralded freshman center Nina Smith, who had 13 points in 21 minutes in
her debut.
"Those are the six people we are going to ride for a long, long time, and
then the others will have their chance to grow with us and have different
roles," Albright said.
Albright plans to rotate those six as starters to begin the season. Each
will take a turn coming off the bench during the first six games. It was
Smith's turn Tuesday to enter as a reserve. It was Moore's turn to shine.
"Tonight was Tamara's night," Albright said. "She got 20 points and was
exceptional. The next time we play it might be Kelley, it might be Dee
Dee, it could be Nina, Jessie or LaTonya."
Moore picked up where she left off last season when she was named to the
WNIT all-tournament team.
"I was more focused and I was ready to play," Moore said. "I have one year
under my belt now, and I was ready to play."
Smith wound up 5-of-11 from the field and 3-of-4 from the foul line. Albright
praised Smith's offensive work, but said the freshman needed to work on
her rebounding after grabbing only two.
"It was fine once I got on the court," Smith said. "I was a little nervous
sitting on the bench, but once I got out there and made my first bucket
it started to come back again."
After entering with 14 minutes, 58 seconds left in the first half, she
scored nine points in the next 6:01. In the second half, two inside baskets
by Smith helped UW build its lead back to 60-41. The Badgers had led by
as many as 24 points after a Pate basket made the score 56-32 with 14:02
left to play.
But Athletes in Action (5-3) rallied within 68-64 with 1:56 remaining.
However, Moore made two free throws with 1:39 left and Sims converted two
more free throws with 1:18 to play to secure the victory for Wisconsin.
AIA coach Stephanie Zonars, whose team previously lost to Michigan and
Purdue, was impressed by UW's inside players.
"I feel like their post game is head and shoulders above either Purdue
or Michigan," she said, adding: "With Jessie, Nina and Sims, it's hard
to defend all that. They will give people fits inside."
Ann Lemire, who played at Michigan, and Julie Rittgers, who played at Drake,
led AIA with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
The Badgers play another exhibition, meeting Parana Basquette Club of Brazil
at 7 p.m. Monday at the UW Field House.
The Field House is being used to satisfy the NCAA requirement that the
same venue used for any potential NCAA tournament games must be used once
during the season. If the Badgers receive a bid to play host to an NCAA
tournament game in 2000, they will play at the Field House because of date
conflicts with the Kohl Center.
ATHLETES IN ACTION
min fg fga ft fta reb pf a pt Gilmore 15 3 5 0 0 3 5 0 7 Jarosch 4 0 0
0 0 0 1 0 0 Oenning 19 1 3 0 0 3 1 2 2 Carpenter 13 3 10 0 0 3 0 0 7 Rittgers
14 4 6 4 5 3 1 1 13 Garchek 12 1 4 0 0 1 2 1 2 Messer 15 4 10 1 2 4 1 2
9 Gray 20 3 9 0 1 3 1 2 6 Gracey 19 1 3 0 0 7 3 1 2 Lemire 27 6 11 0 5
7 0 3 14 Thompson 17 1 4 0 1 3 2 0 2 Noll 25 1 4 0 0 3 3 2 2 Totals 200
28 69 5 14 42 20 14 66
WISCONSIN
min fg fga ft fta reb pf a pt C. Smith 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Paulus 23 3 8
0 0 1 2 2 8 Hefte 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Pate 27 1 5 0 1 3 2 4 2 Sims 28 4 11
6 8 6 2 3 15 Moore 27 7 8 6 6 4 2 3 20 Black 12 0 4 0 0 1 0 3 0 Stomski
29 4 10 2 5 14 2 0 10 Seeger 5 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 Bird 8 1 2 0 0 1 3 0 2 Konieczny
11 3 3 0 0 5 2 0 6 N. Smith 21 5 11 3 4 2 1 0 13 Totals 200 28 62 17 24
41 19 15 76 Rebounding totals include team rebounds Athletes in Action
2640 - 66 Wisconsin 3937 - 76
Three-point goals - Athletes in Action 5-15 (Gilmore 1-1, Carpenter 1-5,
Rittgers 1-2, Garchek 0-1, Messer 0-2, Lemire 2-3, Thompson 0-1), Wisconsin
3-7 (Paulus 2-3, Sims 1-1, Black 0-2, N. Smith 0-1). Field-goal percentages
- Athletes in Action .406, Wisconsin .452. Free-throw percentages - Athletes
in Action .357, Wisconsin .708. Turnovers - Athletes in Action 19, Wisconsin
18. Att. - 7,248.