Sports
Pulling Away from the Pack
The undefeated Eagles are turning heads nationally with their 17-0 start.
These days, the University of Mary Washington women's basketball program is swimming in a sea of superlatives. And why not? After a string of 17 consecutive victories to open the season (all but one of them by double digits) Deena Applebury's squad has attained a top ten national ranking, coming in at #9 in Tuesday's USA Today/ESPN poll.
According to Applebury, the early success is accompanied by a big red target painted on the team's back.
"When teams come to play us, they're always going to be up," said Applebury. "Teams are always going to bring their best game against us. So we need to maintain focus to make sure we don't slip up and get beaten by a team that maybe we shouldn't be."
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So far, that hasn't happened. Most recently, the Eagles shellacked Hood College 66-35 in a game they opened on a 10-1 run and yielded just 13 points before halftime.
Not only have the Eagles been winning, but they've been doing so in blowout fashion, a fact not lost upon the players.
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"Honestly I've never experienced it before," said UMW senior guard Katie Wimmer. "We're going out there and playing like we've been this entire time."
If there's any visible area for improvement for this squad, it may be found on the offensive end of the floor. In Wednesday's win, the Eagles won by 31 despite shooting just 35% (26-74) from the floor. According to another senior, Jenna McRae, the key is consistency.
"We definitely pride ourselves on defense," remarked McRae. "We've done well, trying to hold our opponents to 40 points or less. But we need to focus on always moving the ball around on offense, doing that every possession of every game."
If the team manages to sustain anything near its current caliber of play, UMW's postseason prospects could bear a stark contrast to last season when the Eagles were bounced by Wesley in the CAC semifinals.
"We ended last year with a sour note," reflected Applebury. "That was something the team and I, we vowed we wouldn't have any regrets at the end of the day."
The Eagles will look for their 18th win Saturday, Jan. 21 when they travel to Frostburg State (5-11, 3-5 CAC). Game time is 1 p.m.
Mary Washington Scoring
Diop 13
McRae 13
Wimmer 13
Howland 6
Martin 6
Matthes 6
Jones 4
Dye 3
Witmer 2
