Scoring leader says WSU women’s team better than 7th

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By Marc Katz, Staff Writer 2:35 AM Wednesday, November 4, 2009

It would be easy to focus on the three players who left the team prematurely and the roster of just nine players and the prediction of a seventh-place Horizon League finish for the Wright State women’s basketball team.

Junior LaShawna Thomas of Columbus is having none of it.

“We have so much talent coming back,” Thomas said, “we can just sneak up.”

Thomas led the Raiders in scoring last year with a 12.6-point average and seems to fly around the basketball court like a track star, which is what she was in high school.

“But if I couldn’t do both, I wanted to go somewhere to play basketball,” Thomas said. “Ever since I was little, and my grandma put the ball in my hands, that was it.”

Wright State was 15-16 last season but won five straight games before losing to eventual champion Wisconsin-Green Bay in a league tournament semifinal. Five of the team’s six top scorers return, including Ta-myra Davis (8.5 ppg), Molly Fox (6.9), Maria Bennett (4.7) and Kanisha Ward (4.3).

“Considering where we finished last year,” Thomas said, “I’m predicting we will be better than seventh place.”

The regular season begins at IPFW on Nov. 14 with the first home game five days later against Eastern Kentucky.

Fans wishing to get ready for the season can order team gear online at ImpactSports.Forms.com through Nov. 9. Use the code WRSTWBB.

For the defense

Finishing second isn’t so bad as WSU women’s soccer coach Pat Ferguson found out while sharing coach-of-the-year honors with UW-Milwaukee’s Mike Moynihan. Milwaukee won its 10th straight regular-season championship.

Ferguson’s Raiders allowed just 0.79 goals per game to lead the Horizon League.

Junior Jen Agueci, sophomore Bekah Bonny and junior goalie Megan Hackerson all made first team for the Raiders. Junior Trisha Stevens made second team while I’esha King and Lauren Patterson were on the all-newcomer team.

On Friday, WSU plays Valparaiso in a league semifinal game in Milwaukee. The Raiders beat Valpo 3-0 on Sept. 20. The championship game is at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Ortiz honored

Tony Ortiz, head of the athletic training department, was presented with a House Resolution by state Rep. Jarrod B. Martin, R-Beavercreek, after being named the League of United Latin American Citizens’ Man of the Year.

Ortiz serves as the president of the Dayton Chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2157 or mkatz@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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