Turek steadies herself - Tulsa World (11-6-2005)

[ORUTerry]

Turek steadies herself

By LYNN JACOBSEN World Sports Writer

11/6/2005

Her brother serves as inspiration when she thinks life is tough.

Elisha Turek is a typical gym rat.

The Oral Roberts junior forward is the first one in the gym every day and the last one to leave.

Turek credits her work ethic to older brothers Josh and John.

"Growing up we played basketball in the driveway," the Oral Roberts junior forward said. "I had a basketball in my hands from my earliest memory."

Both brothers have served as inspiration for Turek.

Josh, the oldest, was born with spina bifida, a congenital birth defect. Using a wheelchair, Josh makes a living playing basketball in Spain. John recently completed his eligibility at the University of Nebraska and is playing basketball in Holland.

"Whenever I get down, I think of Josh and how different his life is and how easy my life is in comparison," Turek said.

The lessons learned in the driveway have remained.

"John showed me you have to work hard to get what you want," Turek said. "Josh showed me you can have fun doing it."

Hard work has never been a problem for the 6-foot-1 Turek.

"She's in the gym an hour and a half before practice every day," said ORU coach Jerry Finkbeiner.

Turek hopes to lead the Golden Eagles back to the NCAA Tournament.

"We got a little taste of it last year," she said. "We don't want to settle for just going to the tournament, we want to win a game or two."

Turek understands the uphill struggle that comes from a team playing in a mid-major conference. The Mid-Continent Conference receives one bid to the NCAA Tournament.

"That's why our focus is on the tournament rather than the regular conference title," Turek said.

Another lesson she learned was that anything worth doing is worth doing right.

"Josh always makes me do this free-throw drill where we shoot two each," Turek said. "If we miss we have to run suicides up and down the court. If we miss three in a row, we go up and down the court three times."

Has it helped her free-throw shooting?

"It's helped improve my running, I know that," she said with a laugh.

"Seriously, everything we did was a competition, from riding bikes to shooting free throws. I look back on it now and without (her brothers) I wouldn't be the player I am. Without them, I would play kind of girlie basketball. They made me tough."

As a sophomore, Turek led the Mid-Con in scoring (18.3) and rebounding (9.5) to earn first-team all-conference honors. This year she wants to be conference player of the year.

"I'm just trying to push myself even more," she said.

With 1,017 points and 578 rebounds in her first two seasons at ORU, Turek is on track to catching the school's career leaders in both categories. She needs 1,176 points and 430 rebounds to break both records.

Turek said she is ready for anything opponents throw at her this season. After all, her brothers have already taught her life's biggest lessons.

"I had to earn their respect," Turek said. "I think they have made me tougher. Now when I get into difficult situations, I can handle it. I've been through worse with my brothers."

PLAYER TO WATCH

Rachel Watman

5-8, freshman, point guard

Sydney, Australia

Watman is an excellent ball handler with good vision and quickness. She is capable of playing either guard position. She is a proven perimeter shooter who will be counted on early. In 2003 and 2004, she led her high school team to back-to-back national championships in Australia and was named 2004 MVP of the tournament.