Women's Basketball
Buckeyes to Host No. 24 Arizona in
WNIT Semifinal at Value City Arena
By John Porentas
No. 10 Ohio State will host No. 24 Arizona in the final
four of the WNIT at the Value City Arena on Wednesday.
The Wildcats are paced by 6-5 center Shawntinice Polk
who is currently averaging 17.5 points per game and 14 rebounds per
game.
"I'm familiar because we played them two years
ago and I coached the Polk kid two summers ago," said OSU Head
Coach Jim Foster.
"She's a legitimate big-time player, a double-figure
rebounder, very proficient around the block, an excellent passer,"
Foster said.
A total of four Wildcats average double figure scoring,
including guard Dee-Dee Wheeler who averages 11.0 points and five
assists per game.
"The Wheeler kid is a solid guard and they've got
a couple of good perimeter players," said Foster.
"This is a legitimately good basketball team. We've
got to see if we can grind it out and get them to have to go to their
bench. That's a strength of this team."
Foster's teams have not yet been challenged this season,
registering wins of more than 40 points in all of its outings. Foster
credits the depth of his team for it's early success.
"A lot of times our practices are more competitive
than some of the games we're going to be in," Foster said.
"We have 13 or 14 players who are upper level players.
We don't lose a tremendous amount when we sub. In a practice setting,
it keeps up the intensity," he said.
The influx of talent, combined with a
group of players who are now familiar with his coaching philosophy
and are buying into it fully, has Foster excited about his team.
"I said to one of my coaches half
way through the Bowling Green game that each of the first two years
we were here we were coaching effort and attitude 20 games into the
season," Foster said.
"We're not coaching effort now.
We're coaching basketball. That's a lot more fun."
OSU and Arizona will tip off at 7:00
PM at the Value City Arena. The winner of that game will meet the
winner of the game between No. 6 Duke and No. 11 Notre Dame for the
WNIT championship.
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