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ORU Notebook (Tulsa World 3-18-2007)


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ORU Notebook:

by JOHN E. HOOVER World Sports Writer

3/18/2007

GPA champs?:ORU coach Jerry Finkbeiner said his team's cumulative grade point average is better than 3.4. He said that a few years back, Valparaiso was honored in the top 10 nationally for a similar team GPA, and he expects a like honor for his team this season.

"That's one of my things to do when we get home, to get this team some acknowledgement," he said. "We have six seniors that have taken 11 mission trips during their career. That's sacrifice. That's money. That's 5-6 weeks during your summertime. You throw that out there with the GPA, and they're such special kids."

Back down under: Rachel Watman, a sophomore from Sydney, Australia, will be home in April to compete for Australia's under-21 national team. After scoring 19 and 18 points in ORU's last two games in the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament, she couldn't wait to get to her phone.

"Yeah, I was excited," she said. "I called my mom back home. My dad was happy, too."

Big picture: Williams Arena is the University of Minnesota's gym, but Purdue coach Sharon Versyp should feel somewhat at home. Hanging from the ceiling on one side of the gym are four 20-foot tall posters of Minnesota greats, and on one -- that of Lauren Coenen taking a wide-open jump shot -- is an image of Versyp from her playing days at Purdue in the mid-'80s, waving at Coenen from behind.

"We always talk about defense with the players, and it does not show me playing defense," Versyp said. "I think I was praying the girl wasn't going to make the shot."

Unique floor: Williams Arena has one of the few floors in the country that is elevated. That means both benches, the scorer's table and press row are about four feet below the court. And housed within the same building as the 14,669-seat Williams Arena is the 5,600-seat Sports Pavilion, where high school games and tournaments are frequently played.

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