The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 21, 1980, Page Page 12, Image 12
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