Collegian Venues - your weekend starts here
  AVID All Access Pass

Get a deal with Daily Collegian Coupon Corner
  The Digital Collegian - Published independently by students at Penn State
Sports
[ Monday, Nov. 15, 1999 ]

With Garner out, Walseth steps up for women's basketball

By BRAD STRATTON
Collegian Staff Writer

With senior center Andrea Garner hampered by a shoulder injury, junior forward Maren Walseth was one in a number of Penn State women's basketball players forced to step up her game.

Walseth spent 34 minutes on the floor and produced a game-high 18 points in the Lady Lions' 74-45 exhibition win against Tallin Pedagogial.

In the Lions' two exhibition games thus far, Walseth has shown improvement from her play last season. In comparison with her 7.1 points-per-game average last year, she has averaged 16 points in the two exhibition games, scoring 14 points in Penn State's 116-52 rout of Vologda Russia on Nov. 5.

Walseth has found some success on offense so far, connecting on more than 60 percent of her shots but only converting on 33 percent of her free-throw attempts.

"I think Maren runs the floor very, very well," Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland said after the Vologda Russia game. "I think she's a nice compliment to Dre (Andrea Garner). It allows Dre to go high and low, cause Maren can go high and low. So it allows both of them to compliment each other and give us a consistency in the post play."

While Walseth only had 22 steals in 30 games last year, she has eight steals in the two exhibition games, including five against Vologda Russia.

Walseth spent the offseason working on her rebounding while also attempting to master the high-post shot.

"I guess those (high-post shot and rebounding) are the two things that I focused on (in the offseason)," Walseth said, "although I did a whole lot of other stuff too."

She struggled on the high-post yesterday, however, overshooting a number of her baseline shots.

A low point in Walseth's play against Vologda Russia last week came from the rebounding she worked on during the summer. She struggled against the visitors from Russia, making only three rebounds.

She showed improvement yesterday, though, equaling teammate Helen Darling's game-high eight rebounds.

"I didn't do that (rebounding) at all last week," Walseth said. "During the week at practice, I took that upon myself to try and get as many rebounds as I could and I think I improved on that from the last exhibition game and during the week at practice."



Women's basketball



Send an Opinion Letter to the Editor about this article.


Print this pagePrint this page   E-mail this pageE-mail this page   





TOP  HOME
Copyright © 2006 Collegian Inc.
Updated: 1999-11-15  0:24:15   -4
Requested: 2006-9-1  13:16:11   -4
Created: 1999-11-15  0:23:33   -4