Jennifer
03-27-2002, 06:29 PM
OU women's hoop recruit tops All-State team
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- The gash has healed, the scar is starting to fade and La Cueva star Beky Preston is getting ready to become a
member of one of the country's best women's college basketball teams.
Preston, the 6-foot-3 senior center, will attend the University of Oklahoma, a member of this year's women's Final Four in the NCAA
tournament. Preston, who signed with the Sooners last fall, plans to be in San Antonio when the Sooners play Duke in the national semifinals on
Friday night.
"I've been watching them all through the tournament," Preston said Tuesday. "It's a great honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that
program."
On Tuesday, Preston also was honored as a member of The Associated Press All-State team in Class 5A.
Preston was joined on the first team by Hobbs junior Adrianne Ross, Sandia senior Kim Neff, Las Cruces' Lilly Hernandez, Cibola junior Shauna
Snyder and Rio Rancho sophomore Brio Rode. Snyder and Rode tied for the fifth spot on the first team.
The All-State teams were selected in voting by coaches statewide.
Preston, who averaged 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds a game this past season, sustained a nasty cut on her forehead in the Bears' 61-56 loss
to Hobbs in the semifinals of the State Tournament this month. Preston and Hobbs' Lindsey Huff accidentally butted head while going for a
rebound.
"It's fine," Preston said of the three-week-old wound. "It's pretty much healed. I think the scar will be vague."
Preston isn't sure how she'll fit into Oklahoma's plans next season. But the Sooners have sent her a workout program for the summer and she
says she knows she'll have to get stronger.
"I don't know how much I'll get to play, a lot depends on how hard I work," says Preston. "With a program like that, they want a somebody that is
going to be able to compete right away. I have a lot of potential, but I don't know how good I can be."
La Cueva coach Jerry Brown doesn't think Preston will redshirt next season.
"I think she's going to play," Brown said. "They've told her they expect her to play. They're graduating most of their post players."
Brown said Preston became a complete player during her senior season.
"She's just a much more dominant player," Brown said. "Offensively, she was much more aggressive. She played improved defense and really
dominated the boards. In some ways, Beky was probably too unselfish. She was constantly looking for her teammates."
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) -- The gash has healed, the scar is starting to fade and La Cueva star Beky Preston is getting ready to become a
member of one of the country's best women's college basketball teams.
Preston, the 6-foot-3 senior center, will attend the University of Oklahoma, a member of this year's women's Final Four in the NCAA
tournament. Preston, who signed with the Sooners last fall, plans to be in San Antonio when the Sooners play Duke in the national semifinals on
Friday night.
"I've been watching them all through the tournament," Preston said Tuesday. "It's a great honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that
program."
On Tuesday, Preston also was honored as a member of The Associated Press All-State team in Class 5A.
Preston was joined on the first team by Hobbs junior Adrianne Ross, Sandia senior Kim Neff, Las Cruces' Lilly Hernandez, Cibola junior Shauna
Snyder and Rio Rancho sophomore Brio Rode. Snyder and Rode tied for the fifth spot on the first team.
The All-State teams were selected in voting by coaches statewide.
Preston, who averaged 17.4 points and 9.3 rebounds a game this past season, sustained a nasty cut on her forehead in the Bears' 61-56 loss
to Hobbs in the semifinals of the State Tournament this month. Preston and Hobbs' Lindsey Huff accidentally butted head while going for a
rebound.
"It's fine," Preston said of the three-week-old wound. "It's pretty much healed. I think the scar will be vague."
Preston isn't sure how she'll fit into Oklahoma's plans next season. But the Sooners have sent her a workout program for the summer and she
says she knows she'll have to get stronger.
"I don't know how much I'll get to play, a lot depends on how hard I work," says Preston. "With a program like that, they want a somebody that is
going to be able to compete right away. I have a lot of potential, but I don't know how good I can be."
La Cueva coach Jerry Brown doesn't think Preston will redshirt next season.
"I think she's going to play," Brown said. "They've told her they expect her to play. They're graduating most of their post players."
Brown said Preston became a complete player during her senior season.
"She's just a much more dominant player," Brown said. "Offensively, she was much more aggressive. She played improved defense and really
dominated the boards. In some ways, Beky was probably too unselfish. She was constantly looking for her teammates."