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IJSC wins foi Women awes By Michelle Burchette Gamecock Stnlf Writer The Lady Gamecocks went out and blew another team off the court Saturday night, and the way that they did it was awesome. Carolina jumped out to an early lead, built it up and then never looked back in a devastating 103-60 win over East Tennessee. The women dominated the game from start to finish while improving their record to an 11-2 mark. Jumping out to a big 56-31 halftime lead, the Lady Gamecocks were never really threatened for control of the game despite many turnovers by both teams. A major factor in Carolina's commanding per iui maiia* was team lugeuieniess. msieau 01 iuiciiig the ball inside and losing it, the Lady Gamecocks took the outside shots when necessary and worked the ball in to Sheila Foster and Cynthia Jacobs when the lane was open. FORWARD SUZANNE Woolston believes her team is finally showing the kind of team play they've been working on all season. "We're becoming well balanced which is what we need at this point in the season," Woolston said. "We're finally starting to click as a team." Teammate Sharon Rivers agrees that working as a team is the key to the Lady Gamecock's consistent imnrnvpmpnl "Wp'tp starting to Hn a lot rnnrp as; a x ' " ? O --.w- ^ ? team. Instead of playing bad and having to get cranked up in the second half we're starting out strong from the beginning." Rivers said. "We're playing like a team ? like we should." Jean Walling, who relinquished her starting role early in the season, came off the bench to lead the Lady Gamecocks with 19 points and 11 rebounds, posting her best game of the season. Parsons said Walling has improved since last year even though she is not a starter. "I know it's hard to conceive that a player can be better than she was last year and be coming from the bench, but it's a fact," Parsons said. "Cheryl Autry is also better offensively than she was a year ago." * 5lPfaP^^Wg ^A, HH1H HHHH 3 v W^MnnWWMrBlfim r mBHWRMfnti I >ffi IKTTI'^"^^ i """' r:T Techn USC center Jim Strickland hangs on the rim as the ball bounces out of the basket during jrth in a row ome in victory Al'TKY. KIVKItS. and Kita Johnson alternated at the point guard position using their quickness to break up Buccanneer passes and to steal the ball. Johnson, who usually leads the Carolina man-toman defense, got into foul trouble early in the game and was taken out. With her out and because of the aggressive play of East Tennessee, the Lady Gamecocks switched to a zone defense and gained control once again. "We didn't play well inan-to-man against them, so we went to a zone. Rita usually paces our man-toman, and that makes a difference," Parsons said. "A team has got to be able to pick out the defense that'll work best, and they didn't shoot as well from the outside after we went into the zone." While adding another notch in the Carolina win column, the victory over East Tennessee was most important in preparing the team for their game against Valdosta State tonight, according to Parsons. "EAST TENNESSEE really ran us in the first half, and that's the way Valdosta will play, so it was really good experience for our girls," she said. Woolston agreed that the tempo of the game was similar to what USC expects for Valdosta. "The win was good because it was good preparation for Valdosta who is very similar to East Tennessee," Woolston said. "They're real aggressive, and they run a lot." Not only did the starters see action against Tennessee, but with 10 minutes left in the second half Parsons began drawing on her bench until all of her players had played. "The people on the bench got their opportunity in the second half, and they played real well. That's what we like to see," Parsons said. In action last week the Lady Gamecocks defeated Louisville 98-43. Cynthia Jacbos dominated the game for USC with 21 points and 15 rebounds. The Lady Gamecocks will play Valdosta tonight at 6 p.m. and will face nationally ranked Tennessee on Wednesday. v jy^aB^wBBI Dave Robach - GAMECOCK ica! foul Saturday nights 69-58 victory over East Tennessee. 'Strick' was called for a technical foul on the play. Mm mJy?gJg% !'S?? ^K ' 4 11 1 ''wJKjKr '^i^KHbSHsjp S ! ^3f2Job <,&j^&jNeBmbBS^*^ *''V-"B M m/L wHpP P^f!W?? m 1 Ki r ^ m mm W jy TPp jflh B Russell Pace GAMECOCK USC's Lady Gamecocks display some of the defense that has earned them the 11th spot in the national rankings. Above, Sheila Foster and Evelyn Johnson (52) 'surround East Tennessee 's Marsha Co wart (14). Men get physical in important win By Richard Meyers r.nmArnrli Staff Writer Mike Doyle feels it's a matter of gaining confidence, but Cedriek Hordges believes it's just a matter of playing with more intensity. Kenny Reynolds thinks the key is playing with more emotion, while Coach Frank McGuire would tell you it's a question of pride. Whatever the reason is for the improved play of the Gamecocks basketball team of late, it continued Saturday night as they dumped the East Tennessee State Buccaneers by a score of 69-58. "As each game goes by, we're getting a little more confidence," Doyle said. "We've been coming back all year. The seniors realize that this is it, so why not give the extra effort?" "A lot of people started writing off this team a while back," McGuire said. "That embarrassed some of the players and hurt their pride. We played a good game, and it was a team effort. I'm delighted with the rm. * ,L I 11 _i__i_ ml t ! ? ? ? win. nicy wt'i t'ii iuu^ii uanciuu. 1 ney came in nere line Dears. THE TEAMS TRADED baskets during the first six minutes of the contest, but the Buccaneers soon jumped out to a 25-18 lead, behind Columbia native Troy Lee Mikell. The 6-1 guard from Dreher High School hit all seven of his field goal attempts in the first half. Down by eight midway through the first half, the Gamecocks switched from a zone defense to a tough man-to-man and quickly caught up to the Bucs. Center Jim Strickland and a fired up Kenny Reynolds led the Carolina assault. Stickland sank a layup with two minutes left in the half that gave the Gamecocks a lead they never relinquished. During the half, an occasional shove, kick and some harsh words were exchanged by both teams. With only ten seconds left in the half, Doyle and Mikell engaged in a brief battle at halfcourt. iirArn iirall/irirf ?rv tUn ? ^^..1 1 i ?* *- ?* ? ??v- n^iv naming UJJ mc LUUIl dllCl d IUU1, cillU lit? SlUTltiQ Sdyitl^ something to me," Doyle explained. "I just ignored him. He saw I wasn't paying attention to him, so he put his hand on me and pushed me. And the natural thing to do is to turn around and get him off you. It's an unfortunate thing to happen." Both benches emptied, but the fracas was broken up quickly. Neither player was ejected, nor was a technical foul called. The half ended with Gamecocks ahead 37-33. CAROLINA TOSSED in three quick baskets to start the second half and opened up a 10 point advantage. The Bucs cut the lead to three points with three minutes left, but they could not stop Hordges who converted three three-Doint Dlavs. The fiamfifftrks went intn ? offense the final minutes of the game and widened their margin by connecting from the free throw line. Mikell, the Bucs leading scorer (averaging i5 points a game) was held to only six points in the final twenty minutes of action. Each time Mikell touched the ball, he was roundly booed by the 5,575 partisan Gamecock fans. The treatment appeared to bother him as he missed six of nine shots from the floor and two free throws. Sa? Man. p*g? 14