The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 14, 1995, Page 16, Image 16
16
I"
Carolina's
Arkansas
Lady Gamecocks overcome
19-point deficit but come up short
at the buzzer.
RYAN WILSON Sports Editor
As the USC women's basketball season
winds down, one thing has become
clear about coach Nancy Wilson's squad:
Win or lose, the members play with heart.
This was evident in the Lady Gamecocks'
63-62 loss to the No. 20 Arkansas
Lady Razorbacks (17-5,4-4) in front of
a crowd of 528 Saturday at Frank
McGuire Arena.
The Lady Gamecocks (10-11,1-8)
trailed by as many as 19 points in the
first half, but with the help of some scrappy
defense and a strong second half by
Ail-American Shannon Johnson, the
Gamecocks came back and had an opportunity
to win the game on their last
possession.
"We know that this team has tremendous
heart," Wilson said. "We were all
as a team disappointed with our play in
the first half, mainly because it was so
lethargic. We didn't feel like we were
getting after it. Fortunately, in using
the press, we found the Achilles' heel
that would give us momentum and loosen
us up a little.
"I wish, for our team's sake, we could
have come up with one more basket, but
I believe we gave ourselves the opportunity
to do that. They did everything
...? ?
we OSA.CU LUCULl IU.
The Lady Razorbacks opened the
game scoring the first five points, but
Carolina answered by tying the game
at five with 15:33 left in the half. In the
following minute, Arkansas pulled away,
but a steal and subsequent 3-pointer by
Christi Timmons closed the lead to 9-8.
The Lady Gamecocks went ice cold
after Timmons' trey, as the Lady Razorbacks
went on a 23-5 run over the
next nine minutes to take a 19-point lead
at 23-13 with 5:10 to play in the half.
Carolina stopped the run with Timmons'
3-pointer and outscored Arkansas
104 in the final four minutea A 3-pointer
as time expired by freshman Heather
Godfrey cut the lead to 13 at 36-23.
The half time clearly described the
way the game was heading. The Lady
Razorbacks hit 51.6 percent of their shots,
while Carolina hit 27.3 percent. Even
though Carolina's shooting stats were
bad, one other aspect of USCs game was
missing: Shannon Johnson.
The junior Ail-American guard, who
leads the team in scoring, scored only
one point in the half Wilson stressed in
the locker room the importance of getting
Johnson the ball more in the sec- Ji
ond half. A
"At halftime, we talked about our R
motion offense, setting screens and get- bi
ting Shannon the ball and who in turn jr
would set other people up," Wilson said. _
Johnson said, "Coach felt like I wasn't
getting the ball enough, and she told the ^
girls to get me open more. I thought they ^
did a better job in the second half." ^
The Lady Gamecocks came out with k
a different lineup in the second half. ^
Freshmen Godfrey and Tenna Thomp- n
son started the half in place of senior a
Jenny Randall and junior Cindy Kelly.
Wilson justified the lineup change be- _
cause she felt Godfrey and Thompson ?
l -.?C A. C
were mailing more 01 an enorx.
"I thought they were outplaying the
others," Wilson said "The five we start- g
ed in the second half were the ones who g
were playing in the first half. Fortu- ^
nately, some of the other people cranked
up" a
The lineup change payed off as the j
Lady Gamecocks used a full-court press
to cause some turnovers. The pressure I
caused Arkansas to lose its composure
as Carolina outscored the Lady Razorbacks
15-2 and tied the game at 38 with
12:54 left in the game.
"The pressure obviously bothered
Arkansas," Wilson said "I think our girls
did an excellent job to be able to press
as much as they had to to negate the
half-court strength that Arkansas had.
"I was real pleased with the effort
we had in the second half. Christi Timmons
was tremendous on defense, creating
steals and coming up with loose
i ii_ ?
Daiis. j
Arkansas coach Gary Blair praised
Carolina for the determination it showed |_
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inlor guard Natalie Funderbur
rkansas turnover In USC'e 6
azorbacks. The Lady Gamecocks
lit managed to come back, only t
i coming back from 19 down and rejonding
to coaching adjustments.
"When you're down by 19 in the first
alf, with the little freshman (Godfrey)
itting the 3 right before half to give
lem momentum and with a little coachlg
at the half, thaf s what college basetball
is all about," Blair said. "The kids
jsponded to coaching in the second half
nd made some adjustments."
Arkansas finally regained its comosure
and pulled away, but never led
y more than seven for the rest of the
ame. The Lady Gamecocks battled back,
aostly on the play of Johnson, and manged
to tie the game at 58 when Johnon
converted a three-point play with
1:18 left in the game.
The Lady Razorbacks answered with
i basket and a free throw to get a 61-58
ead. Johnson scored on the next pos
MP.. FG FT
Jones 14 2-2 0-0
Johnson 35 5-10 6-7
Biobimr 31 4-10 6-8
Smith 40 5-10 2-4
Wilson 38-5-13 0-0
MP FG FT
liliMll# 36 5-16 0-(
Randall 32 1-5 0-i
Kefiy 23 . 3*0 <M
Johnson 37 8-21 5-i
Rj?nd?kutk 34 1-5 1-i
Arkansas
USC
Takii
Th? Qanrcock
m has tr
lid over
art, 63-62
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KIM TRUETT The Gamecock
k gets excited after causing an
3-62 loss Saturday to the Lad)
? were down by 19 In the first hall
o lose by one as time expired.
session to cut the lead to one, but
Arkansas' Christy Smith was fouled on
the inbounds pass. Smith, who earlier
in the oeaonn mioaerJ a free throw that.
would have tied the game at Ole Miss
with :00.3 left in the game, hit both free
throws to up the score to 63-60.
Carolina hurried the ball down the
court, but Jenny Randall missed a tightly
guarded 3-pointer attempt. Cindy Kelly
got the rebound and scored as time
expired to make the final 63-62.
The second half, we did the smarl
things with our half-court offense," Wilson
said. "I felt like we could win to the
buzzer because of the way they were
scrapping. I thought Shannon was
tremendous in the second half, and oui
play as a team defensively was
scrappy."
Arkansas
Rbs A FS , Pts
0 0 11 4
6130 16
16
5 3 3 113
7 2 0 1 11
use
Rbs A F S Pts
J S 0 3 3 12
3 3 0 2 1 3
3 4 0 3 0 0
3 9 7 3 1 23
2 0 3 m o 3
36 27 63
23 39 62
ETHAN MYERSON / The Gamecock
ng th
Tuesday, Frtmar
emendo
Lady Gam
u Lady Gameocks set areru
record for 3-pointers made a!
they defeat Lady Owls.
MICHAEL BAUR Staff Writer
The Lady Gamecocks have shown,
penchant all season long for hitting th
3, and when they do, most teams crum
ble in front of them.
Carolina's most recent victim wa
the Lady Owls from Rice Monday nigh
at Frank McGuire Arena The Lady Owl
watched the Lady Gamecocks connec
on a Coliseum-record 14 3-pointers ei
route to an 87-71 victory over the Lad;
Owls in front of 412.
The win evened USC's record at 11
11 overall and 10-3 against nonconfe
ence opponents.
The Lady Gamecocks torched th
nets early and often, hitting six 3-point
ers in the first six minutes of the game
For the half, Carolina shot 52.9 percen
from downtown.
Jenny Randall led the Lady Game
cocks with 21 points despite only 17 min
utes on the floor. Randall was injure*
after hitting a 3-pointer with 16:10 let
in the first half. As a result, Randall on
ly played nine minutes the entire firs
half.
Cindy Kelly chipped in 20 points wifl
Heather Godfrey adding a career-higl
15. Overall, the team shot 48 percen
from the field and beyond the 3-poin
arc.
"It's exciting to break the record,
USC coach Namy Wilson said. "Shan
non LJohnsonJ opened the game with!
three, and Heather and Jenny contribute*
as well, so we did a good job of distrib
uLing the ball."
Randall and Godfrey were a com
bined 6-for-9 from 3-point land as tb
Lady Gamecocks built a 44-34 lead a
the break. In the second half, Cindy Kel
ly posted sue quick points inside the pain
while connecting on 50 percent of her 3
point attempts to key the 16-poin
victoiy.
After an early second-half run by tb
Lady Owls, the Lady Gamecocks an
swered and k ept the game at a safe dis
tance. For the game, USC shot 48.4 per
cent from the field while shooting 48.;
percent from behind the 3-point arc. Tb
Lady Gamecocks also found some point
on the inside as Kelly and Audrey Ram
sey found their rhythm in the post.
"We hadn't taken advantage insidi
m the first half," Wilson said. "We wen
to our high-low offense that created mon
opportunities for us to get more points.
Next up for the Lady Gamecocks ii
a Saturday SEC contest against na
tionally ranked Florida. Despite the La
i dy Gators' impressive statijiics, Wilsoi
r expects her team to be ready for the!
F p.m. contest at McGuire Arena.
Tve heard that they're the most ath
letic team in the league," she said. "Bu
well be ready for them."
Connecticut
Associated Press
HARTFORD, Conn. - The talk abou
Connecticut basketball was flowing ai
freely as the coffee Monday at the Sug
ar Shack. And not even the poetry o
owner Nick Buonocore could spoil thi
day.
: "Never in history has it been dom
' both men and women ranked No. 1," th
5 poem went. "Our Huskies did it, Fm fill?
' with glee. So come in and have a coffe*
* Hey, if s on me."
Not only did the men's team read
t the No. 1 ranking for the first time ii
the program's 93-year history, but b;
catching up with the women, the schoc
became the first to have both program
ranked first in the polls.
follrinrr oknuf if TTxraw;
AJVCljrWWAJ O LCUIVjLiig (UA^Ub ll/i AJ?^1 J
body's excited," said Tom Iannone, a se
nior who works at Buonocore's dough
nut shop, which gave away more thai
100 gallons of coffee Monday.
The campus was relatively quiet th
day after the men's team beat Syracus
to improve to 19-1 overall and 12-0 ii
the Big East. Most of the celebratini
took place Sunday, when the Huskies
biggest fans knew a win would all bu
assure the team of being No. 1.
And that is exactly what happened
The men's team received 50 of 66 first
place votes and 1,626 points in the lat
est AP poll.
ie eh;
y 14, 1995
us heart/
ecocks rout ]
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Jenny Randall scored a team-high 21
e 87-71 home win Monday against Rice
s 11J
R
e MP F.G FT R
t Smhh 22 1-6 0-0
1 McCallum 26 7-11 8-9 i
e Manzo 12 2*2 0-0
Guinn 32 4-9 1 -2
9 Lalomfe 40 4-12 0-0
U
MP FG FT R
Tlmrnons 33 2*9 1-2
1 Randall 17 8-11 0-1
2 Ke8y 24 6-10 7*2
Johnson 32 5-9 2-3
Fuoderbuifc 03 0-4 WM
t Rice
USC
t women, men
Hie Connectiait women's team, which t(
? also won Sunday to remain the only un- N
g beaten team in Division I (21-0,13-0), oi
has been in the top spot since midf
January. tc
g This is something we all knew about c
both UConn teams," said Gov. John Row- a
, land, who phoned his congratulations o
g to men's coach Jim Calhoun. "We didn't b
j need the AP poll to tell us they are
} No. 1." t
In the eyes of Connecticut, the Huskies v
^ have always been the top dogs, espe- p
n daily in a state where the only profes- s
? sional franchise is the NHL's Hartford b
j Whalers, who have provided fans little
g to cheer about.
But now that both teams are No. 1, t
r_ there seems to be more legitimacy to the a
j_ Huskymania gripping the state.
"I think it is a tribute to the small e
1 state of Connecticut that we are getting ii
this kind of recognition," athletics di- tl
e rector Lew Perkins said. The fact that a
we are the first, srhnnl in the eountrv ....
e , *
^ ifs wonderful." d
g The men's team, which jumped from "
,> third to first in the polls, became the v
t fourth school to hold the No. 1 ranking
this season and the first Big East team b
[ to be top-ranked since Syracuse was on h
top for six weeks in 1989-90. b
_ The Huskies easily outdistanced t<
North Carolina (19-1), which dropped
arge.G
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mmrn .. flinftaii
JAMIE CLARK The Gamecock
points In tho Lady Gamecocks'
ice
bs A F S Pts
6 0 4 0 22
4
4232 12
rav^ aiWiWiiie
ISC
lbs A F S Pts
31 ^e-^v'X? ? W 7
4 0 3 0 21
n ?i wii |. i Mil i
6 7 2 1 13
34 37 71
44 43 87
ETHAN MYERSON / The Gamecock
top-ranked
) second following a midweek loss to
laryland. Next was Kansas (18-3), the ,
tily team to beat Connecticut.
Kentucky (17-3) moved up one spot
) fourth and was followed by Massahusetts
(18-2), which fell one place in
i week in which the Minutemen won
ne game and had another suspended
iy a student protest at Rutgers.
"It's more important to be No. 1 in
he middle of February than the first
reek of December," Calhoun said after
iractice at George Washington Univerity
Monday. "But what really counts is
teing No. 1 the first week of March."
Starting center Travis Knight agreed.
"Being No. 1 won't be important unil
the end of the season. It doesn't mean
i thing until then," he said.
The women have been holding up
xtremely well under the pressure of beig
No. 1. They continue to breeze through
heir schedule, beating opponents by an
verage margin of more than 30 points.
"I like the way the women are hanling
it," said forward Donny Marshall.
If we could do the same thincr the
women's team is doing, we'll be fine."
The men didn't have long to celebrate
efore preparing for their first test at
Jo. 1. They went straight from Syracuse
o Washington, where they face Georgeawn
Tuesday night.
P. Q