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Justin Hudson

NEWS 4/17/08 7:00pm

Berezhynska picked in WNBA draft

By Justin Hudson

After a stellar women's basketball career, during which she scored over 1,000 points and led the Owls in rebounding and scoring in the 2007-'08 season, senior Valeriya Berezhynska will have a chance to take her game to the professional level next year. Last Wednesday, Berezhynska was chosen in the third round by the Detroit Shock with the 42nd overall pick of the WNBA Draft.Despite being slowed down by an ankle injury, Berezhynska had a productive senior year. In only 23 games, she had 20 double-doubles and averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game. She ended her career with 1,076 points, placing her 10th on Rice's all-time scoring list.

NEWS 4/10/08 7:00pm

Commentary: Basketball blends brains with Braun to bring back buzz

By Justin Hudson

The first thing I noticed about Ben Braun during the press conference announcing his hiring last Monday was his clothing. Usually, new head coaches are dressed in their finest suits, trying to make a good first impression on skeptical alumni and fans. But Braun, the new men's basketball coach, walked into the media spotlight in a Rice polo shirt and sweat pants. He made it clear he was already hard at work rebuilding a somewhat broken program."Excuse my working clothes," Braun said. "Today is my first day on the job."

NEWS 3/13/08 7:00pm

Top-seeded UTEP ends Rice's hot streak in C-USA quarterfinals

By Justin Hudson

Going into the Conference USA quarterfinal with No. 24 University of Texas-El Paso, the women's basketball team had done everything right. The Owls (14-18, 6-10 C-USA) were peaking when they needed to, having won four in a row. They had handily defeated East Carolina University 69-55 in the opening round of the tournament, holding their opponent to its lowest output since December. And as the contest against the Miners (27-3, 16-0 C-USA) entered the final stretch of the second half, the Owls had not buckled - unlike in the squads' previous meetings - and looked poised to make a run at a fifth-straight conference final.But just when they needed it most, the Owls' luck ran out in the second half when UTEP guard Jareica Hughes, the eventual C-USA Tournament MVP, turned in a performance for the ages: Hughes put in 29 of a career-high 33 points in the second half to lead the Miners to a 80-71 victory that brought Rice's season to an end.

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