Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Columbia Hall outlasts Bates By Bruce Ritchie Gamecock Staff Writer Behind the hot shooting of Jimbo Whitney, fourth ranked Columbia Hall soundly defeated Bates House in the Intramural game of the week. Whitney scored nine of his 17 points in the second half to lead Columbia Hall to its 54-39 win. Bates House relied on the scoring of Chris McNamara to keep up with Columbia Hall through much of the first half. With less than three minutes left, however, Columbia Hall ran up an eight point lead on Bates, but a last second basket at the buzzer helped Bates close the gap to 26-20. WITH McNAMAHA in foul trouble, Columbia Hall opened a wide lead over Bates in the second half. Alternating at the forward and guard positions, Jimbo Whitney sank four outside shots against the smaller Bates defense. Columbia Hall also utilized a fast break offense behind ti?l r? ? ...i? r:?:?1 1 tu? ? uic ajrtxu ui luiwdiu rciun oiuwn wuu uiiiMieu iiic gciinc Willi nine points. With less than nine points in the game, McNamara fouled out and Bates was forced to use backup players. Despite the offensive skills of the reserves, Bates fell further behind the aggressive Columbia Hall squad. A 19-point margin (49-30) with four minutes remaining proved to be Columbia Hall's biggest lead en route to their second victory of the season. Despite his team's easy victory, Columbia Hall coach Rob Kellner had praise for his Bates House opponents. "I was definitely impressed with their outside shooting. They had a fairly good team, and I was especially surprised with their players who could come off the bench and score," he said. COLUMBIA HALL'S Jimbo Whitney led all players in scoring with 17 points. Chris McNamara of Bates House contributed 11 points as his team fell to 0-2. Columbia Hall's victory came despite the loss of its two starting guards Ben Jett and John Pressley. Jett was sidelined by an illness and Pressley left last night's game with a sprained ankle. Kellner said he hopes Jett will be healthy for their next game, but he doubted Pressley would be able to return in the near future. UNRANKED SNOWDEN will be the next opponent for Columbia Hall. "Snowden is going to be a tough match," Kellner said. "I know Thorn1 I A. 1 I ?_ / in n/>v L..1 11 i.ll C ? fI 1 ion ueai inem uy eleven puims uui yuu can i ten truni a him game in the season." Bates House will play their next match against Woodrow on Wed., Feb. 6. m jE j9 ' ',;??-v-H|^^ BprvB gl -"-'i-*- |Bp' W^^gfeig v |M|^^^"vJ.:."" r n :^-MW?y',; /- ,<^t_ &$% 2115 i^HBftWiii^fcS8^^pplli|Stt ?tBSb am 11111 OavaRoback GAMECOCK Walk-ons Maryann Chibbaro (right) and Cindy Raw! (left) sit on the bench awaiting their turn to contribute in a recent Lady Gamecock victory. , . -fL , ? ^BiHH^HP'iK^V^llfl'WP^jiM. "^^IP . - W-C;*- ^>1^ irP An unidentified Columbia Hall shooter fires up a jumper from outside against Bates Chibbaro,Rawl o 1 wo wam-c By Tammy Kilpatrick Gamecock Staff Writer The role of a walk-on in college basketball is one of an underdog competing against scholarship players for a chance to be a part of a team. For the two walk-on members of Pam Parsons' 1979-80 squad, a chance to play at a major university is reason enougn 10 compete ior a spoi on me team. MARYANN t'HIBBARO, a freshman from New Brunswick, N.J., and freshman Cindy Kawl from Lexington, S C., decided before they started the fall semester they wanted to be members of the Lady Gamecocks. "I had the opportunity to come and play at a major university, and that's what my dream was," Chibbarosaid. An All-Conference player in high school and captain of her team, Chibbaro first became interested in USC when she attended the Shenandoah Vallev Sports Camp where Parsons was a guest speaker. "SHE WAS phenomenal. This was a lady who was so dedicated to sports, especially basketball for women," Chibbarosaid. Rawl, a South Carolina native, became aware ofthe women's basketball team's reputation when her sister played briefly for the Lady Gamecocks. "I wanted to play for the I^idy Gamecocks and under coach Parsons," she said. A member of the state championship team from Lexington High School and an Ail-American high school player, Kawi said sne was recruited oy several small colleges, but had always wanted to play for a large university. HIGH REGARD for Parsons and a friendship with Lexington teammate Sharon Rivers, now a scholarship player at Carolina, influenced her to try out for the team. "She (Parsons) amazes me because she's such a good coach," she said. Trying out for the team involved running at least two hours a day, plus learning new techniques, such as working under the 30-second clock enforced in women's college basketball and learning new defensive and offensive patterns. "You come in from high school and you think you WJ4 U. * # tt/vn 4 l#n/\nr hir>rt '' Pourl RI1UW (1 Ull, UUl yUU UUIl V IVIUJW anjf umig, Iiom said. "I can honestly say I've learned more this year than in all my years in high school." Chibbaro said Parsons has improved her knowledge of the game since she became a team member. "She just knows so much about the game. I've learned so much in such a little time," Chibbaro said. i. .?HUmA*U>;ANI> RAWL said their high school A*- 1A i L ^ uLi m ? WFWj^BsmL "?0m 1 HK3B P' jp V - *>* Brell L. Friedlander-fiAMKCOCK House. Fifth ranked Columbia Hall won the contest by a 54-39 margin. n women's squad ms help out coaches encouraged them to try out for the South Carolina team "They knew that's what I wanted." Chibbaro said. "Just being part of the team is really great." Rawl said her coach helped her train before she attempted to make the team. She added that Parsons encouraged her during tryouts, and helped her with running tips and techniques. Both players said they were excited when told they had made the team. "1 was real excited and it made me real happy to know that I could fit in here and help in cnmn " Phihh'ipA ciirl in oviiiv *? u y , v^uiuuui u ouiu. Rawl said she found out she had made the team when Parsons threw her a jersey in practice one day and told her that meant she had made the team. "I kind of swallowed my tongue!" she said. CHOSEN WITH Chibbaro out of five competitors, Rawl said Parsons had high standards for the girls on the team. Walk-ons were chosen by Parsons on the basis of whether they would be an asset or just take up space on the team, according to Raw l. Both freshman players said the long hours of a ^ ,1 ?u..u11 .i? ?? : patucc mm nine ucvuicu iu udSRtiudu uu noi interfere with their academic or social life. The dimension of friendship with teammates makes it worthwhile, according to Chibbaro and Rawl THE POSSIBILITY of winning a starting position as guard is not impassible for Chibbaro to imagine in the future. "Right now we've got some terrific guards. Cheryl (Autry), Rita (Johnson) and Sharon (Rivers) are just super. It's a r^aLioughcompetition, but I'll never give up," she said "If she (Parsons) needs somebody I'll be there." Rawl said she is willing to wait for the chance to be n pf iwrt rt? in ??/4 An 4 4 n/vn U a ouu i i>?> ^uaiu v/n uic icani. twai-ii I rti SUMS KiilU, 'You're going to have to be patient, you're going to ' > have to work hard and you have to get experience under your belt'," Rawl said. Parsons stresses team play, according to Chibbaro and Rawl. Nobody works as an individual because no one's indispensable," Rawl said. EVERYBODY PULLS for each other. I'm part of v the team, and if the team loses, I lose too, even if 1 don't play," Chibbaro said. "I always root for them and try to encourage them.'' The I>ady Gamecocks are ranked 16th in the Associated Press poll, and 10th in the Sports Illustrated poll. Chibbaro said Parsons and the team were pleased with the Sports Illustrated ranking. "Coach was jumping all over the place," she said The benefits of being on the team far outweigh any handicaps, and Chibbaro and Rawl agree that playing for a team helps their understanding of -people. '