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Date Posted: 12:02:22 03/09/02 Sat
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Record Article
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Re: UOP beats UCR" on 11:56:45 03/09/02 Sat

Originally Published Saturday, March 9, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tigers rout Riverside

Women play Gauchos for Big West title; men fall to Utah State 69-65 in semis seconds to Utah State

By Bob Highfill

Record Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- Oh, what a feeling.

For the first time in four years at University of the Pacific, women's basketball coach Sherri Murrell will wake up today and prepare her team for the Big West Conference Tournament championship game.

"I love my kids. They work so hard," a teary Murrell said after her team completely outplayed and beat UC Riverside 64-47 in the second tournament semifinal Friday. "I do it for the kids, and when I see them with smiles on their faces, it makes me a proud coach."

Murrell and about 200 supporters, who filled the spacious Anaheim Convention Center with cheers and noise, should be proud. The Tigers (19-10) extended their longest winning streak to six games with a clinic on ball movement, tough defense and relentless rebounding.

UC Riverside shot 35 percent, the Tigers 39 percent. Pacific made seven 3-pointers, including five by sophomore Nancy Dinges, while the Highlanders made none. The Tigers had 48 rebounds, of which 19 were on offense. UC Riverside had 31. Senior point guard Selena Ho had six of her team's 17 assists. UC Riverside had three.

Pacific will play top-seeded UC Santa Barbara (24-5), which beat Long Beach State 83-65 on Friday, at 1 p.m. today for the championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. The Gauchos have won five consecutive Big West Tournament titles. Their last tournament setback was an 88-87 loss to Pacific in 1996, which also was the last time the Tigers beat the Gauchos.

Murrell believes her team will change history and make it today with the school's first tournament title.

"It's going to take 40 minutes," Murrell said. "With the defense we're playing right now and the peskiness we're giving teams, we'll bother them."

Pacific bothered UC Riverside's zone defense with crisp ball movement. The Tigers built a 33-29 halftime lead to 20 (64-44) in the second half.

The Highlanders (16-13) tied Pacific for second place during the regular season and were awarded the second seed after winning a coin flip. But Pacific proved it was by far the superior team.

"When we weren't scoring and Pacific kept scoring, there was a little bit of panic," UC Riverside forward Crystal Harris said. "We needed to score and stop them, and we never got to that point."

The Highlanders couldn't handle the Tigers' interior players, either.

"We looked for open gaps and crashed the boards hard every time," said Tigers sophomore center Gillian d'Hondt, who was unstoppable in the first half and finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. "That definitely was a key."

Another was containing UC Riverside senior Amy Houchens, a hard-driving, sharp-shooting first-team all-conference guard who entered the game averaging a team-high 15.5 points per game. The defensive assignment went to Tigers senior Dolinda Meeker, and she came through big time.

Meeker frustrated her opponent with fierce player-to-player defense. When Houchens tried to drive, Meeker cut her off. When Houchens tried to pull up for a jump shot, Meeker would knock the ball away. Houchens, a 38-percent shooter, made 1-of-13 from the floor and scored a season-low four points.

"Defense is my thing," said Meeker, who tied her career high with 10 rebounds. "It's the same every game. Coming in, she's a good player, and we knew that. One of the things we knew we had to win was to shut her down."

Told what Houchens shot for the game, Meeker threw her head back and with a smile said, "That's awesome. Good deal."

Houchens initially refused requests to be interviewed, then emerged from her locker room and said, "She's really quick, and defense is her specialty. There were times she was holding me, but we all do it. When she gets away with it, she's going to keep doing it."

Meeker was whistled for four fouls, but she was on the court when the final buzzer sounded and enjoyed a big hug from Ho, her backcourt mate for four years.

"One more," said Ho, who scored 10 points. "What a story it would be."

* To reach reporter Bob Highfill, phone 546-8299 or e-mail bhighfil@recordnet.com

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