The Daily Collegian Defense the focus for Lady Lions against Army Daniel Bott/Collegian Maggie Lucas (33) holds the ball away from a defender during the Lady Lions win over Gannon on Nov. 7 at the Bryce Jorda Center. Sophomore Ortega making adjustments, helping team By Brandt Gelman COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Throughout his tenure on the Penn State wrestling team, red shirt sophomore Justin Ortega has been the defini tion of a team WRESTLING player. After wrestling at the 174- pound weight class for the majori ty of last season. Ortega beefed up to wrestle at 197 pounds this year a daunting task that has led to a 1-1 start to his season. Despite defeating his team mate, true freshman Nick Ruggear, in the early season intrasquad match, and again in the Nittanv Lion Open this past Sunday, the two wrestlers have been splitting time as coach Cael Sanderson is still undecided on who will be the permanent starter. "That's a tough weight class to decide who the starter is going to be." Sanderson said. They Don’t Need Another Penn State T-Shirt. Keep up with anything and everything Penn State . Subscribe to the weekly today** 1 * CoUeBia “ Collegian I To subscribe please enclose: I □ $4l for a one-vear subscription, a □ $64 for a two-year subscription. ■ □ $7 l > for a three-year subscription. I For delivers outside the I L ulled States, eall Sl4-N65-25J1 for rates. I Make checks payable to Collegian Inc. I Mail to: The Weekly Collegian Department W 123 S. Burrowes St. State College. PA 16X01-3882 “Ortega has now beat him three or four times this year, and he has done a great job for the team.” If Ortega is given the starting role at 197 pounds, his time in that role may be short lived. At the Open, junior All-American Quentin Wright injured his left shoulder. Although X-rays came back negative, Sanderson said Wright may be out for matches until mid- February. “It’s just one of those injuries that takes time to heal,” Sanderson said. The trouble with Wright’s injury is the Nittany Lions don’t have a viable replacement at the 184-pound weight class. For this Sunday’s dual meet against Lock Haven, Sanderson said redshirt freshman Andrew Church would be the most likely candidate to step in for Wright. Church currently wrestles at 174 pounds, but Sanderson is con TRUST US, n name ■ address . I □ new subscription The Weekly Collegian publishes when classes are I in session during Fall Semester and Spring Semester. □ renewal Visit our Web site at: www.collegian.psu.edu SPORT' By Andrew Robinson COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Unlike the last two opponents Coquese Washington has had to plan for, Army does some things quite differently. • Despite the Black Knights WOMEN'S favoring to play as BASKETBALL many as four guards on the floor compared to the tall, athletic lineups of Boston College and Texas Tech, there is one constant the Lady Lions coach has been harping on defense. And it’s going to stay that way all year. “[l’m looking for| improved defense,” Washington said at her weekly press conference Tuesday. “I feel like I say that eveiy week, but specific to our man-to-man defense. I’d like to see us get a lit tie better with our basic funda mentals in man-to-man defense and to just be able to get after it." The Lady Lions take on,the 3-5 Black Knights at 6:30 toriight at the Bryce Jordan Center in the second of a seven-game home stand Sunday afternoon against Texas Tech, the Lady Lions stall ed in man defense, but had trouble navigating through the Lady fident in Church's ability to step in and perform well. From a big picture standpoint, the Nittany Lions may call on Ortega yet again to take one for the team and drop down to 184 pounds. Ortega will not be available to wrestle this weekend at 184 pounds because NCAA rules pro vent him to shed that amount of weight by Sunday. Ortega is confident he will be able to lose the weight to help the team as Wright recovers. “I’m already weighing in light anyway,” Ortega said. "The coach es are probably doing the calcula tions now, but they will keep me informed." Ortega acknowledged how important Wright is to the team, saying Wright is an essential part, of the team's national champi onship hopes. Ortega added the team believes it still can reach those goals without Wright in the lineup. If you go Lady Lions vs. Army 6:30 tonight Bryce Jordan Center Raiders’ ball screens and switched to a zone defense for parts of the first half. Before com ing to Penn State, Washington was an assistant coach at Notre Dame, which is known for its use of a vari ety of zone defenses. But with a young team, and a some size to her advantage, Washington said she doesn’t want her team to be a “jack-of-all trades." and instead master a few key defensive alignments. While she wants the team to keep improving on defense, Washington also noted she has already seen improvement from game to game, and she simply wants to see it con tinue. Army's four-guard lineup presents a challenge to the Lady Lions' man-to-man defense with its motion off the ball, and Washington said her team will see similar styles in upcoming games with Drexel and lowa. "The biggest challenge is when they pull our posts away from the basket and thev have to defend out Justin Ortega (right) wrestles with teammate Nick Ruggear at wes offs earlier this year. Ortega has continued to be a team player. To achieve those goals, the ”1 take my hat oil for hin team will have to remain positive. Sanderson said. "He i> ciclimteh Sanderson said Ortega is some- team player one whose mentality goes a long way for the program Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2010 I 9 there,” Washington said. “[Army's] a team that shoots a lot of 3s and their percent may not be that high right now, but that's because I think a lot or people play them man-to-man because they don’t want to sit in a zone and let them get into a rhythm." The biggest challenge for the Lady Lions will be keeping their post players on the floor and tak ing a‘Vantage of their size. Washington said the problem is when the posts have to drift out on defense because they tend to get into foul trouble, something that has plagued the Lady Lions this season. For the players, the biggest hurdle has been gelling used to the rotations on defense Freshman guard Maggie Lucas said both the zone and man to man defenses each have their own rotations and the hardest thing for her is to make sure she's always moving and not watching passes. "I've played zone with my A U' teams and we had a tew high school but yeah, it's jus! the rota tions," Lucas said. "You've got to move on the pass, you can't just watch, you have to be moving the whole time, there's no time to take breaks.' To e-mail reporter: adrso79@psu.etiu To e-mail reporter: bmgso94@psu.eriu
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