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10 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Wednesday, March 27, 2002 t^| rri r^\ game schedule CONTACT ITS JI I W—J I SOFTBALL vs. East Tennessee State (DH), 3 p.m. Wednesday mui uu | ■ ■ ■ A ■ . BASEBALL vs. The Citadel, 7 p.m. Wednesday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I L i MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Memphis in NIT Final, 9 p.m. Thursday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com —B_ _B_ -B— —/ BASEBALL vs. Alabama, 7 p.m. Friday - Women’s season comes to an end 0 USC 68 Duke'holds off Lady Gamecocks in Elite Eight BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s basketball team took the court Monday night to take on Duke for the right to travel to San Antonio and this year’s NCAA Final Four. The Lady Gamecocks also took the court to show the country how far they’ve traveled'this season — from last year’s losing season all the way to the Elite Eight in Raleigh, N.C. The Lady Gamecocks fell short in their first mission when they were nosed out 77-68, but their sec ond mission was a resounding suc cess. USC nullified a 13-point half timg deficit and showed the heart and determination that has char acterized the team this season. After the loss, USC head coach Susan Walvius spoke of her squad’s historic run through the tournament. “I couldn’t be prouder of our team and what we’ve been a£le to accomplish this season,” she said. Carolina simply ran into a buz zsaw by the name of Alana Beard. The Duke guard did everything but drive the team bus Monday night, scoring 24 points and adding seven rebounds. Beard also notched five first-half steals and played every minute of the contest. “She’s a great player,” USC for ward Jocelyn Penn said. “I don’t think we had an answer for her.” The Blue Devils’ first five pos sessions resulted in four missed shots and a turnover, while Carolina came out of the gate on fire and went on an 8-0 run to silence the throng of Duke fans in attendance. After a timeout, Duke put the de fensive clamps on the Lady Gamecocks and took control of the game. The Blue Devils collected six steals and a season-high eight blocks in the first half, and their 14-0 run gave them a 35-22 lead at halftime. Carolina refused to roll over in the second half. USC outscored Duke 18-7 in the first six minutes of the second half, and a Shaunzinski Gortman layup with 13:27 remain ing tied the score at 42. Penn’s layup gave USC a 46-45 lead at the 9:57 mark. A relentless zone defense kept Duke’s shooters at bay and brought the Carolina fans to their feet. Kelly Morrone drained all three of her 3-point at tempts in the second half, includ ing one from NBA range to keep the game close. The two teams traded baskets in the waning minutes with the Final Four berth hanging in the balance. The Lady Gamecocks continued to press, but Beard struck again. Beard fired a pass to a wide-open Iciss Tillis, whose easy layup put Duke ahead for good, 72-65, with 42 seconds left. ♦ BASKETBALL, SEE PAGE 11 Vania Redd consoles Jocelyn Penn after she fouled out during Carolina's hard loss to Duke Monday night. PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK 0 use 66 n|u|$ Syracuse 59 Carolina defeats Syracuse for spot in NIT title game BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK The USC men’s basketball team played their first ever NIT semifi nal Tuesday night against Syracuse, and it will now get to play its first NIT title game ever after it defeat ed the Orangemen 66-59 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Gamecocks were designated as the home team for the game, but Syracuse begged to differ. The Orangemen came onto the game wearing their white home jerseys and matched the white ones worn by USC. Two and a half minutes into the game, one of the Orangemen’s managers brought the team’s real uniforms, and Syracuse changed into their orange tops on the court to bring contrast between the teams. Nonetheless, home or away team, white or orange, Syracuse had no luck down the stretch and the Gamecocks pulled out the win. Aaron Lucas hit the first basket of the game to give the Gamecocks (22-14) a short-lived lead. The Orangemen then went on a 9-0 run to take charge of the game, holding the Gamecocks to one field goal in the first eight minutes. Down 29-23, Lucas again was the answer for USC, as he hit a 3-pointer to make the halftime score 29-26. The Gamecocks, who opened the half shooting a dismal l-for-10, rounded it out going 8-for-13. In second half action, Carolina quickly tied the match when a Jamel Bradley 3-pointer tied the score at 31. But the Orangemen re sponded with a 3-point shot of their own and began to hold off the Gamecocks. With nine minutes left in the game, Bradley hit two consecutive 3-point ers to give USC control of the game. Lucas followed with a 3-pointer as well, and the Gamecocks held the lead for the remainder of the game. Lucas led Carolina with 20 points. Bradley and Tony Kitchings each had 13 points, while Rolando Howell tallied 11. For the Orangemen, Preston Shumpert led the way with 28 points. The only other Syracuse player to score in double figures was Kueth Duany with 15. With the win, USC head coach Dave Odom has now won 300 career games. USC will now face Memphis on Thursday night in the NIT Championship. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com fgjg USC vs. Memphis 9 p.m. Thursday Madison Square Garden TV: ESPN PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN/THE GAMECOCK Aaron Lucas, right, led the Gamecocks with 20 points In Tuesday night’s NIT semifinal win against Syracuse. The senior guard will play his final college game Thursday night in the championship game against Memphis. I SOFTBALL Carolina to play rematch BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK The 24th-ranked USC softball team (21-11,3-5 SEC) looks to re bound this afternoon from a weekend in which it was shutout in all three games by LSU. The Lady Gamecocks’ oppo nent today will be the East Tennessee State Lady Buccaneers, and the two will face off in a dou bleheader at Beckham Field. The two teams played last month in the Gamecock Invitational, and USC came out on top 8-0. In that game, Stacey and Aleca Johnson combined for a four-hit shutout, and USC jumped out to a 541 lead in the first inning and never looked back. ETSU (13-13, 3-3 Southern Conference) is a young team in only its second year of existence. However, it’s having an impres sive sophomore season so far and showing plenty of promise. There are only three seniors on the team, however, which forces the younger players to have more of a leadership role. Sophomore Tiffany Vandergriff has become the team’s offensive leader. Her .346 average, four dou bles, four home runs, 18 RBIs and 10 stolen bases all lead the team. Fellow sophomore Rhea Holler is hitting .294, and freshman Mary Beth Hazelwood is hitting .263. The Lady Bucs’ youth carries over to the mound, but ETSU is anchored by senior Marsha Giles. Giles is 5-5 with a 4.09 ERA and 21 strikeouts, and she owns the team’s only shutout. Freshman Courtney Jenkins sports a 5-4 record with a 4.36 ERA and a team-leading 48 strike outs, while Y'andergriff (3-4,5.92) ♦ SOFTBALL. SEE PAGE 11 Football team shaping up BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK Spring practice for the USC football team is well under way, and last Saturday, the Gamecocks had a scrimmage that helped the coaching staff get a better clue as to where some players might end up. Head coach Lou Holtz commented Monday on some of the positions. At the quarterback position, Holtz still feels Corey Jenkins is the front-runner. “Someone is going to have to beat Corey out,” Holtz said. At wide receiver, Holtz has been im pressed with James Adkisson, who was in jured for a lot of last season. “James has shown the ability to run after the catch, and that is something we need on offense,” Holtz said. “He has shown flashes of brilliance.” On defense, one of the surprises has been the play of redshirt linebacker Lance Laury. Holtz has been so impressed with Laury that he will probably move linebacker George Gause back down to defensive end. “Lance Laury has really come on, and I think we’re going to take a look at playing George Gause down some,” Holtz said. “That should help our defense.” As far as the secondary is concerned, Holtz feels his younger players will be able to step in to compensate for the loss of Sheldon Brown and Andre Goodman. “We don’t want to put the comerbacks on afl island, so to spea?i,” Holtz said. “We'd ♦ FOOTBALL, SEE PAGE 11 USC head coach Lou Holtz was pleased following his team’s scrimmage this past weekend.