You reached this page through the archive. Click here to return to the archive.

Note: This article is over a year old and information contained in it may no longer be accurate. Please use the contact information in the lower-left corner to verify any information in this article.

Ole Women start the season with a win over Buena Vista

Sarah McBroom
November 20, 2001

The St. Olaf women?s basketball beam traveled to Buena Vista University in Iowa on Saturday, November 17 for their season opener. The Oles, winning the game by a score of 65-63, showed balance and depth in their first contest with 13 players seeing the floor during a game that was tight until the end.

In the first game of the season, the Oles showed composure in the second half and closing minutes of the game, allowing them to come away with the victory. Coach Buresh explained, "We played very good defense in the second half." Under pressure from the Ole defense, Buena Vista shot only 28 percent in the second half after shooting an impressive 50 percent in the first half. The improvement of the Ole defense proved to be crucial, allowing St. Olaf to come back from a halftime deficit of 30-36 for the win.

Carrie Cooley (Sr, Villard, Minn.), St. Olaf's starting point guard, went 10 for 12 from the free throw line and also led the team in scoring with 18 points. Cara Battles (Sr, McGregor, Minn.) was the second leading scorer with 12 points. Cooley and Battles were the spark behind a significant second half momentum shift in St. Olaf's favor. "The big plays in the second half were definitely Carrie?s consecutive field goals and Cara topping it off with a three," commented Coach Buresh. With 6:45 left to go in the game, Cooley made an impressive drive to the basket, scoring two for the Oles, and then immediately stole the in-bounds to score another field goal and tie the game. Battles then made her second three pointer of the afternoon in the team?s next possession to put the Oles ahead.

Also playing well for the Oles was Lori Enlund (So. Bloomington, Ill.) from inside who racked up an impressive 11 rebounds, five blocks, and three assists. Kristy Larson (FY, St. Ansgar, IA) was second in team rebounding with six.

The Oles, showing great poise down the stretch, shot 82 percent from the free throw line in the second half. "The difference in the game was free throws," said Coach Buresh. Overall, St. Olaf was 25 for 33 in free throws, compared to Buena Vista who tallied 9 for 12.

The Oles (1-0) face Simpson College (2-0) in their first home contest at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 20 in the Skoglund Athletic Center.

Contact Judy Stromayer at 507-786-3315 or stromaye@stolaf.edu.