Umpqua 85 Portland 54

Opened up NWAACC Southern region play with a 85-54 win over Portland CC last night. It was our first home game since December 8th and only our second home game overall, so we were all a little nervous, anxious, excited, etc. There was a great crowd at the game and we really wanted to make a good "first" impression. Here's the link to the newspaper article from The News Review: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080106/SPORTS/358115485

But for me the real story of the game was the unselfishness of Kristi Fallin. Kristi started off the game with a hot hand and had 17 points by halftime. By the time she hit another 3 early in the second half we had a 28 point lead and a chance to get everybody significant playing time in front of a large home crowd. So for the next 16 minutes we rotated our other 10 players in and out five at a time while our leading scorer sat on the bench yelling, cheering, and giving high fives. I know Kristi wanted to play - all great competitors do. But she understands the big picture and knows that strengthening and rewarding our bench with playing time is only going to make us that much better in the long run. Besides, it's not every day when a player can lead her team in both scoring and cheers in the same game!!