Women's College Basketball
University of Virginia 98, Rider University 51
LAWRENCEVILLE?It was over in 136 seconds. Virginia (10-4) jumped out to a 15-0 run in the first two plus minutes of the game and never looked back, opening up a 30-9 lead half way through the first half and despite 24 points from senior Janele Henderson (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bishop Loughlin), the Broncs lost to the University of Virginia 98-51 in a non-conference game Wednesday night. “This gets us re-centered on some of our weaknesses that we have,” head coach Lynn Milligan said. “I was disappointed that we lost like that, especially on our home floor.”
Henderson, went 6-11 from three-point range in 34 minutes of action, finishing one off her career high in points. “Janele played strong and confident tonight,” Milligan said. “She got herself back on track and played like you expect a senior to play against a very strong Atlantic Coast Conference team.”
“Virginia is an ACC team and I really wanted to step up,” said Henderson who was named the MAAC player of the week the first week of the season. “I wanted to show that I could play with them and be on the same court as them. Shooting wise, the game boosted my confidence heading into the conference games.”
The 98 points surrendered is the most allowed by Rider since November 29, 2002 when the Broncs gave up 104 points to ACC power Maryland.
Also for Rider, freshman Shannon Ferguson (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) had a career-high 12 rebounds (six on the offensive glass) and a career-high nine points in 36 minutes of action.
“When you have freshmen, sometimes they don't know any better and that's a good thing,” Milligan said about the steady play of Ferguson who spent the night crashing the boards. “Shannon just went out there and played and against an opponent like Virginia, that's what you have to do.”
Down 35, Rider (5-8) closed the first half on a 7-0 run, four points by junior Shaunice Parker (Waldorf, Md./West Lake) and the Broncs trailed 51-23 at intermission. Parker finished with eight points, six rebounds and two steals.
Up 68-39, the Cavaliers used a 13-0 run midway through the second half to turn the game into a rout.
New Jersey native Sharnee Zoll led five Cavaliers in double-digits with 21 points, six assists and four steals in only 22 minutes of action. Zoll went 7-8 from the field including 4-4 from three-point range. Overall, Virginia made a school record 14 shots from three-point range.
“Credit Virginia,” Milligan said. “They are a very strong defensive team and your margin for error against a team like them is very small.” The Cavaliers forced a season-high 30 turnovers for Rider and had 15 steals in the game.
“Virginia is the type of team where any little thing, turnovers, diving after loose balls, if anything gets by you, they will capitalize because they play a full 40 minutes,” said Henderson. “I don't think we did that in the beginning of the game, I think we were a little hesitant.”
Virginia is now 4-0 all-time against the Broncs, including 2-0 in Alumni Gym.
The Cavaliers played without junior forward Lyndra Littles who suffered a knee injury in practice on January 1. Littles is second on the team averaging 16.3 points per game.
Rider travels to New Rochelle, New York on Sunday, January 6 for a 2:00pm Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game at Iona.
“We can pull some positives from this but we had some weaknesses exposed,” Milligan said. “There are some things that we need to correct quickly before Sunday.”
“We want to show that despite our 0-2 start in the conference, we aren't the same Rider team of the past,” Henderson added. “We are looking to start getting that respect with our effort on Sunday at Iona.”
The game was a homecoming for Cavalier head coach Debbie Ryan, a Pennington, New Jersey native who is in her 31st season as head coach at Virginia. “This is where I'm from and I love this area,” Ryan said. “Rider head coach Lynn Milligan has the team on the right track. The players play hard, they are much, much better than last season and she has lots to build with here. Lynn is a very good coach and it won't be long until she has the program turned around.”
Prior to the game, Ryan was recognized for her sponsorship of a Courage Award to be given to a Mercer County athlete named in honor of Chris Somma. Somma was a Hamilton High West basketball player who pasted away from cancer last year.
“Having the players witness the Courage Award presentation tonight really helps us realize that sports aren't everything all the time and that there is a whole lot of life out there other than sports,” Ryan said. “I think for all of the players it is a good reminder that it isn't about winning and losing, sometimes it is also about helping others.”
Ryan will be inducted in June as part of the 2008 Women's Basketball Hall of Fame 10th anniversary class
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