The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 16, 1988, Page 8, Image 8
Banner sees L
to beat in cor
By DAVE KAY
Staff writer
Schonna Banner says she's confident
heading into her third year with
the Lady Gamecocks.
When asked if this year's team ?
and last year's Metro Conference
champions ? is the best she has been
associated with, Banner said, "I'm
sure of it. I'm just looking forward
to it."
Last year, the 6-foot-3-inch Banner
led the team in rebounding with
7.3 points a game and was second in
scoring with an average of 15.3
points a game.
This season, Banner has a good
chance to become only the 13th
player in Lady Gamecock history to
reach the 1,000-point plateau. She
needs only 61 points to surpass this
goal, and she seems poised to do this.
When asked about her personal
goals for this season, Banner said she
wasn't looking for a specific scoring
average but just planned to try her
best.
"I'm going to keep working hard
in practice and try to help the team
out the best that I can, as far as giving
them what they need," she said.
"If I try to play good, I know the
scoring will come."
Because the Lady Gamecocks' won
the conference tournament last year,
they're a prime target for other teams
hoping to knock them out of the
competition, Banner said.
"It (the Metro Conference) is going
to be tough," said Banner.
DATE OPPONENT
Now. 26 Rhode island
Nov. 27 Holy Cross
Dec. 3 ApoaJachran State
Dec. 6 UNC-Chartone
Dee. 12 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Dec. 14 S C. STATE
Jan. 4 NORTH CAROLINA
Jan. 7 + MEMPHIS STATE
Jan. 9 SOUTHERNMISSISSIPPI
Jan. 12 GEORGIA
Jan. 14 + Lootsvtlle
Jan. 16 Cmcmnaa
Jan. 19 old dominion
J?n. 23 + FLORIDA STATE
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"I'm going to keep
working hard in practice
and try to help the team
out the best that I can, as
far as giving them what
they need. If I try to play
good, I know the scoring
will come.,,
Schonna Banner
basketball player
"Coach (Nancy) Wilson said the
other teams lost a lot, but they had
good recruiting years. But I think
we're going to be the team that
everyone is going after."
Banner was highly sought after
during her senior year of high school.
In addition to USC, the junior from
Lenoir, N.C., was recruited by
Georgia, North Carolina, Auburn
and Tennessee.
Banner said she's happy she chose
USC and that she's been satisfied
with her career here.
"The coaches showed that they
cared about my family and they
didn't just talk about basketball,"
she said. "I also liked them because
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schools the whole time they were
recruiting me."
& Schedule
Jan. 26 CLEMSON
Jan. 26 Ctemsoo
Jan.-30 + VIRGINIA TECH
Feb. 2 Tennessee
Feb 4 + Memphis State
Feb. 6 + Southern Mississippi
Feb. 13 +CINCINNATI
Feb. 15 NX-State
Feb. 18 LOUISVILLE
Feb. 20 Florida State
Feb. 25 * Virginia Tech
Feb. 27 East Carolina
Mat. 1 DEPAUt
Mar. 6-11 Metro Tournament
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Senior preseason Ail-American Martha Parker
Parker to It
By CHRIS SILVESTRI
Assistant sports editor
When five seniors leave a basketball team, the
first thought that comes to mind is that the year
will be one for rebuilding.
For this season's Lady Gamecocks, however,
that isn't the case.
Of the five seniors who graduated, only one
played regularly. And with the addition of standout
transfer Beth Hunt, center Schonna Banner,
point guard Lisa Diaz, forward Beverly Hawkins,
three-point specialist Karen Middleton and last
season's Metro Conference Player of the Year
Martha Parker, USC is looking to improve on last
year's 23-11 mark.
"This is the best basketball program since we've
been here," said USC head coach Nancy Wilson,
entering her fifth season with the Lady
Gamecocks.
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Parker, a senior who can play any position from
center to point guard, is a preseason first team AilAmerican.
She led USC in scoring (16.6 ppg), field
goal percentage (.563), assists (3.9), and steals (1.7)
last season.
Hunt, a 6-foot-1-inch sophomore forward who
transferred from Maryland and had to sit out last
season, led the Terrapins with 16 points and 9.1 rebounds
per game in the 1986-87 season, and she
was named the ACC Freshman of the Year.
Banner, a 6-foot-3-inch junior center, led the
Lady Gamecocks in rebounds last year with 7.3 per
game and was voted a preseason honorable mention
Ail-American, while Middleton led USC with
a .434 shooting percentage from the three-point
area. Wilson says Middleton ". . . is one of two or
three best three-point shooters in the country."
Diaz averaged 7.9 .points a game last season,
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scoring, in double figures in eight of the last 12
games, and was named most improved by her
teammates.
Hawkins, a 6-foot forward, came on strong at
the end of last season, starting five of the final six
games. Hawkins scored nine points and grabbed 10
rebounds in USC's season-ending loss to No. 3
Texas in the NCAA playoffs.
Forwards Ann Gardner and Treka McMillian
and guards Sherry David and Tracey Parker will
compete for playing time as well and add depth off
the bench.
Also joining the Lady Gamecocks this season
will be highly- recruited freshmen Angel Henderson
and Lori Joyner.
"We should be the team in the Metro that other
teams are coming after," said Wilson. "We seem
to be the consensus number-one pick . . . we'll
definitely be the team everyone's shooting for.''
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