my best friend, Amy Turner; they have the perfect technique of how to tackle, and I still watch them

EDINBURG, Texas -- Antonio Green scored 20 points to lead three players into double figures as Texas-Rio Grande Valley defeated Texas State 72-61 Wednesday night, kicking off a three-game homestand and snapping Texas States three-game win streak.Ten players scored for the Broncs (3-8) as they secured their first win at home this season after ending a seven-game road swing with a double-overtime loss at Portland. Nick Dixon added 14 points with five assists. The Broncs had 21 assists on 25 baskets.Texas State (4-4) twice came within eight points in the closing minutes, first when Kavin Gilder-Tilbury hit a 3-pointer and again when he made one of two foul shots that cut the gap to 69-61 with 1:39 remaining. Green closed out the game with a free throw and a layup.Gilder-Tilbury led Texas State (4-4) with 20 points and Bobby Conley added 13.Vlade Divac Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Lance Stephenson Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http://www.lakersteamofficial.com/Nick-Van-Exel-Lakers-Jersey/ . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. LeBron James Jersey . Then the Pacers gave Oladipo and his Orlando teammates the cold shoulder. Paul Georges buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter spurred a 21-4 run, finally sending Indiana past the Magic 97-87 in a tougher-than-expected opening night matchup. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city.Ellia Green dreamed from a young age of lighting up the athletic world at the Olympics, but a strange opportunity in 2012 saw the sprinter turn to a whole new sport -- one with a ball -- for her chance to represent Australia in Rio de Janeiro.Green, a 100-metre and 200-metre specialist, had been training for years to reach the Olympics, yet it was some gentle prodding from her mum that saw her turn one dream into another. And after attending a Pathways to Gold rugby sevens trial in 2012, the rest, as they say, is history. Green is now among the biggest names in the womens game after a four-year rugby journey full of broken bones and long sideline stints.Its crazy to finally be an Olympian, Green told ESPN. Its been a very long journey, four years playing rugby sevens, and even longer than that training for track and field.The 100- and 200-metre sprints were the original dream, but this opportunity came up in 2012. I wasnt planning on playing rugby -- it was spontaneous. I didnt know anything about rugby, and it was my mum who suggested it.She told me, Why dont you just give it a go? My cousin was going to a trial that day, and I drove her, so it was a bit of being in the right place at the right time.Green, 23, became one of 80 women selected at the Melbourne trials and was sent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra for further trials. A little hesitant at first, especially because she had little knowledge of the sport, Green decided to take the plunge.I had no idea about sevens. Id watched a little bit of it at the Commonwealth Games, but I still didnt know the rules. I did know that Fiji was really good at it, and with Fijian heritage I was always cheering for them. But I didnt know a great deal about it, so I was so nervous to even go to the trials in Canberra and go to the next stage.I said to my mum, I dont know why they picked me. I dont know anything about the game. All I know how to do is lift and run, lift weights and run fast. But I was lucky enough that that got me over the line.Green impressed everyone with her speed and natural ability, and moved quickly through the system. Her progress was so rapid that she was selected to represent Australia in the Womens Sevens World Series within six months of taking up the game.But the transition wasnt without its challenges, particularly the tough decision to abandon her sprinting hopes on the track.It was tough [making the decision to give up athletics]. It was a huge decision, Green told ESPN. In sprinting you spend a lot of long hours with your coach, just one-on-one, so you build a close relationship. So to say to him, Im going to go to Canberra to try rugby sevens, he was like, Why? You have a huge career ahead of you that you can pursue in athletics. He wasnt too pleased about it, as you would be.ddddddddddddGreen credits her brave move to her mums instincts.My mum just said, Opportunities like this dont come around too often, so you just have to give it a go. So I went with my mums instinct because I feel mums are right 99 percent of the time, and she was, and here I am.While the transition to rugby star went relatively smoothly, Green says it wasnt easy learning the fast-paced, physical sport -- starting from the basics of running and catching.It was [a] huge transition, she told ESPN. I feel like rugby sevens is one of the toughest sports to actually play. Its so tough on the body because youre almost training for an 800-metre race, gaining the endurance of an 800-metre race and also dealing with the physicality, like a boxer. So I think the hardest part about learning was just about the repeat efforts coming into sevens.Training for track, you get a lot of recovery time; its more about short explosive power. Whereas in sevens, its more like you have to do an 80-metre sprint, get up and make a tackle and chase her down.Its so demanding physically and for your aerobic fitness.The first time Green was tackled left a bigger impression, however.I think I can remember the actual moment [I first got tackled]. I think I got so badly winded I was making all these gasping sounds, lying on the ground. Thats when I knew this was going to be a tough sport.Thats the one thing my mum wasnt so keen about, telling me, Ellia, why cant you choose a sport where youre not going to get injured? So I told her not to worry, and that she couldnt wrap me up in cotton wool.Four years later, Ive had about five operations, teeth missing, a broken arm, dislocated shoulder -- you know, all that. But its been so much fun along the way.Learning to tackle wasnt that much easier.Tackling took a little while to pick up, and you know were still learning today to really improve our tackle effectiveness. But I think I just watched the more experienced players, like Sharni [Williams] and Shannon [Parry] and my best friend, Amy Turner; they have the perfect technique of how to tackle, and I still watch them and look up to being as good at defence as they are.The Australian womens side, the Pearls, head into the Olympics as clear gold-medal favourites after winning the 2016 sevens series title.But Green said there is plenty of competition within the womens draw.The top three teams that wed really keep an eye out for would be New Zealand, Canada and Great Britain. But then also teams like Fiji, France and Spain are all stepping up out of the ranks. I think come Olympic Games, itll be anyones game, because everyone will be there to win. ' ' '