2008 Woodie Awards
Lady Rams have momentum
By LJ Harrell
Issue date: 2/4/08 Section: Sports
"Pressure is a privilege. If you're feeling pressure you're privileged," Head Coach Deirdre Kane quoted Billy Jean King after a resounding victory against the East Stroudsburg University Lady Warriors. This is what Kane and the rest of the coaching staff preached after a tough loss to the Cheyney University Lady Wolves.
"The last three years [Cheyney] has gotten a lot better, they played very well, and they deserved to win," Captain Catherine Andrews said after the loss to Cheyney. "I think playing there gave us all the confidence in the world that we can go in anywhere and play. We were frustrated because we haven't lost in so long but it was mostly new comers and they wanted to keep the tradition alive."
The West Chester University Lady Rams (12-7, 4-1 PSAC East) have found a way to fight through adversity. After losing a 16-year, 33-game winning streak against Cheyney, the Lady Rams responded with dominating victories over ESU and the Bloomsburg University Lady Huskies.
"It was real bad," Kane said. "After we talk and do our thing, we all put our hands in and we say 'beat the next opponent,' because in sports you look ahead, so we put our hands in and it was like 'beat Stroudsburg.' And I was like 'you got to be kidding.' I got choked up. I said 'Oh you're sad the streak is broken, how long have you been here, one year, two years, three years. I've been here for all 17 years and if I can muster up a 'BEAT STROUDSBURG' so can you.' So I made them do it again."
"They were down; there's no doubt about it, and in the weight room they were down. But once they got back on the practice floor they really responded well," Kane said of what the feeling was around the team after the defeat to Cheyney.
Cheyney was able to shoot 46.2 percent from behind the arc for the game, 71.4 percent in the second half to defeat the Lady Rams at Cope Hall for the first time since the 1991-1992 season. Stephanie Orji led the Wolves with 15 points. Cheyney also dominated the offensive glass recording an amazing 26 offensive rebounds.
"The last three years [Cheyney] has gotten a lot better, they played very well, and they deserved to win," Captain Catherine Andrews said after the loss to Cheyney. "I think playing there gave us all the confidence in the world that we can go in anywhere and play. We were frustrated because we haven't lost in so long but it was mostly new comers and they wanted to keep the tradition alive."
The West Chester University Lady Rams (12-7, 4-1 PSAC East) have found a way to fight through adversity. After losing a 16-year, 33-game winning streak against Cheyney, the Lady Rams responded with dominating victories over ESU and the Bloomsburg University Lady Huskies.
"It was real bad," Kane said. "After we talk and do our thing, we all put our hands in and we say 'beat the next opponent,' because in sports you look ahead, so we put our hands in and it was like 'beat Stroudsburg.' And I was like 'you got to be kidding.' I got choked up. I said 'Oh you're sad the streak is broken, how long have you been here, one year, two years, three years. I've been here for all 17 years and if I can muster up a 'BEAT STROUDSBURG' so can you.' So I made them do it again."
"They were down; there's no doubt about it, and in the weight room they were down. But once they got back on the practice floor they really responded well," Kane said of what the feeling was around the team after the defeat to Cheyney.
Cheyney was able to shoot 46.2 percent from behind the arc for the game, 71.4 percent in the second half to defeat the Lady Rams at Cope Hall for the first time since the 1991-1992 season. Stephanie Orji led the Wolves with 15 points. Cheyney also dominated the offensive glass recording an amazing 26 offensive rebounds.
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