Women's basketball opens season with exhibition loss

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by Erica Levine

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Sophomore forward Stephanie Mundschau came off the bench to lead the Owls in scoring with 16 points.

Rice could not overcome the hot shooting of Lori Byrd, however. Byrd led the Flights with 28 points on 14-of-20 shooting.

"Our defense in the first half was good," said Head Coach Cristy McKinney. "We were pretty solid for those 20 minutes, and that's a definite plus."

The Owls held the Flights to 35- percent shooting in the first half, but Rice's inability to score left them with a 30-27 deficit at the half.

Rice trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half, but ended with a 10-2 run to narrow the deficit. Munsdschau scored six of her eight first-half points in the run.

"Stephanie did a very good job tonight," McKinney said. "She played aggressively and attacked out on the court."

"We did well, particularly in the first half," said sophomore guard Kim LaLonde. "But there were times our enthusiam wasn't there."

The Owls played catch-up the first seven minutes of the second half. A 10--foot jumper by senior guard Marsha Frese tied the game at 40, but a series of layups put the Flights ahead, 50-40.

The Flights continued to dominate, pushing the score to 70-55 in the next 6:30.

A series of layups and foul shots gave the Flights a 40-18 run in the second half and solidified the victory.

"This game was a good indicator to show us what we needed to work on," said senior guard Rachel Hartline.

"We really need to give our best effort, talk on the court, get into our plays and cut down on turnovers," she added.

"We need to work on controlling the ball," McKinney said. "Our goal was 15 turnovers total for the game. We had 14 in the first half alone."

The Owls feel that there has been a definite improvement over last season.

"There's a new style of play," LaLonde said. "We've decided that instead of letting the game come to us, we have to go out and get the game."

"Coach McKinney and her staff have been really great," Hartline said. "We do need to play harder, but we're looking forward to doing better once we do."

Rice's next matchup comes this Sunday. The Owls tip off against Lithuania's Rina Basketball Club at 2 p.m.

"Our main goal is to improve [over Wednesday's] play," McKinney said. "We have to work on taking better care of the basketball."

McKinney expects senior center-forward Shannon McClain to return to the boards this weekend after an ankle injury.

Freshman guard-forward Lisa Escobedo may be out for a good portion of the season, however. She has been suffering muscle problems in her shins.

"Both Shannon and Lisa add a lot of intensity," McKinney said. "We need them both."

"We have a lot of work to do this season," McKinney said. "We're not where we want to be yet, but we're getting there."

This item appeared in the Sports section of the November 19, 1993 issue.

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