The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 20, 1996, Page 7, Image 7
Tuesday, February 20,1996
Lady Garr
ACHIM HUNT Asst. Sports Editor
Hie Lady Gamecocks (15-8,2-8) were
quite busy the past couple of days as
they were forced to rebound from
Thursday's draining loss to Tennessee
by facing the LSU Tigers (16-8,4-6) and
the Wofford Terriers (3-19) in a three
day span.
On Saturday, the Lady Gamecocks
were able to hold off the favored Tigers
as they played them neck and neck for
the first half. The second half was a
different story as LSU picked up the
defensive pressure and outscored the
Lady Gamecocks 78-62.
"We just ran out of gas in the second
half of the game," Head Coach Nancy
Wilson said. "It was a matter of
unfortunate timing as we had to play
such an athletic team right after having
played Georgia and Tennessee back to
bade. They were a tough team to match
up with."
The Lady Gamecocks were once again
paced by the No. 2 leading scorer in the ,
nation, Shannon Johnson, with 17 points.
After the game, she was 115 points shy
of the All-Time Scoring Record held by
Sheila Foster.
"During the LSU game, we played
lackadaisical, and we just ran out of gas
in the second half," Johnson said after
the LSU game. "I jolayed hard, but we
were just not able to hold on to the ball
and take advantage of the opportunities
that they gave us."
The Wofford game, however, was a
good chance for the Lady Gamecocks to
relax a little bit and regain some
confidence after three tough losses.
rm ix 1 *_ i.l_ _
i ne game was quite sioppy in tne
first'two minutes as neither team scored,
and the Lady Gamecocks committed
three quick turnovers. Once Johnson
hit her first of three three-point shots,
the Lady Gamecocks pounced on the
Lady Terriers for 11 straight points and
the early lead.
They never looked back as the Lady
Gamecocks continued to outscore the
underpowered Lady Terriers by 27-7
with the help of Audrey Ramsey's 10
Gamecocks i
With only four games left in their
season, the South Carolina men's
basketball team is hoping (or praying)
for a bid to the NCAA Tournament,
better known as March Madness.
At this point, it's apparent the
Gamecocks control their own destiny
as far as the tournament is concerned.
Playing home games against Florida
and Tennessee and traveling to Ole
Miss and Georgia make it likely the
Gamecocks will have to win the rest
of their games to receive a bid. Simple,
right? Not quite.
After looking at Carolina's 1-5
conference road record, it looks like
USC will have to play the best
basketball of the season to sweep the
final four games.
To say USC has struggled on the
road this season would be an
understatement. They have won just
two of eight games away from Frank
McGuire Arena. Prior to the game
against Vanderbilt, USC had connected
on just 41.6 percent of their field goals
and 25.9 percent of their three pointers
and had a -10.5 scoring margin.
You don't have to look far past the
Gamecocks' troubles on the road to
February 23
February 23
lecocks re
first-half rebounds.
"I just did my job out there tonigbt,
and that was to rebound," Ramsey said
after her 18-rebound performance against
Wofford. "My rebounding was what I
was assigned to do tonight, and I stepped
up when this team needed it."
The scoring onslaught continued for
the Lady Gamecocks, who dismantled
i * i m to il
tne L<aay l emer aeiense me enure
game. They used control of the boards
and an ability to push the ball up and
down the floor to build a lead that reached
40 points by the end of the ball game.
Shannon Johnson once again led the
team in scoring with 21 points. She also
had nine rebounds in the game.
Her performance put her 94 points
behind Shiela Foster on the All-Time
Scoring List with 2,172 points.
"Well, anything is possible, and we
need to play well as a team against
Alabama and Kentucky," Johnson said
after the game Wednesday night. "My
goal is for us to pick up two victories
and have a good post-season. If we have
that, then maybe the record will become
mine, but I am not focusing on it."
The Lady Gamecocks were forced to
play without the services ofTrese Hickey
and Nikki Miars, who are both day to
day and hope to be back in action for
the final two home games of the season.
Those games are against conference
rivals Alabama and Kentucky. The Lady
Wildcats fell to the Lady Gamecocks
earlier in the year 66-53 at Rupp Arena
in Lexington.
"I hope to get two wins over this last
stretch of games," Nancy Wilson said
after notching career win 411 against
the Lady Terriers. "Alabama is very
athletic and physical, and it will be tough
to match up with them. It is important
to get a victory and some momentum
for the postseason."
The Lady Gamecocks will look for
the momentum and a big victory on
Thursday against the Crimson Tide in
a 7 pm showdown in the Frank McGuire
Arena. They close out the regular season
with a home game against Kentucky
Saturday at 7 p.m..
mist finish st:
see the I LARRY I
problems SEC [ WILLIAMS |
teams are I
having this
season away from home. Overall, road
teams have won just 19 of 71 contests
this season in SEC play, a winning
percentage of just 13.5 percent.
Despite the down numbers on the
road, USC has put up some stellar
numbers at home, where they are 121
(Kentucky being the lone loss).
At Frank McGuire Arena, USC is
averaging 88.5 points per game and
is hitting 52.3 percent of its shots from
the field as a team. The Gamecocks
are also winning by an average of 17.7
points per game, have a rebounding
edge at home and are averaging 17.1
assists per game.
To reach the tournament, it is likely
Carolina will have to either win their
final four regular season games plus
one in the SEC Tournament, or win
three of the four and two in the tourney.
The Gamecocks need road wins to
gain a good position in the SEC
Tournament. If Carolina can maintain
its second-place standing in the SEC
East, they will get a first-round buy
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Guard Shannon Johnson, soon hen
in Monday's victory over Wofford.
rong to get t<
and, more importantly, won't have to
face Kentucky until the final round.
If the Gamecocks fall to third, they
will be placed in Kentucky's bracket
and will have to win two games before
they face the Wildcats.
A look at the latest Rating
Percentage Index (RPI) suggests USC
will need road success to have any
chance to make the NCAA's. USC is
ranked No.40 nationally, behind
Kentucky, Mississippi State and
Arkansas.
The RPI is used by the NCAA to
supplement the selection of at-large
teams and the seeding for all teams
for the NCAA Tournament.
Team Notes
There are several Gamecocks who
have made their marks on the SEC
this season and are legitimate
contenders for All-SEC postseason
honors.
Junior guard Lany Davis is an AllSEC
and All-America candidate. Davis
leads USC and is fourth in the SEC
with 18.6 points per game. He has also
made 53 of 68 free throw attempts for
a .800 percentage, ranking second in
the SEC. Davis is also second in league
ssell House Uni
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TYSON PETTIOREW The Gamecock
a against LSU, poured in 21 points
The Lady Gamecocks won 87-47.
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games in scoring with an 18.8 average.
Davis has the SECs second highest
scoring game of the year with 35 points
against LSU. His 15-18 day from the
line marked the most free throws made
by an SEC player this season.
Sophomore guard Melvtai Watson
is an All-SEC candidate. A freshman
All-SEC a year ago, Watson has some
impressive all-around numbers. Starting
46 of 47 career games over the past
two years, Watson is third on the team
with 13 points per game.
Freshman guard Bi McKle is a
freshman All-SEC and Freshman AllAmerica
Candidate. McKie is currently
second on the team and 15th in the
league with 14.5 points per game.
Apoong freshmen in SEC league games,
McKie ranks first in scoring, fourth in
three-point percentage and fourth in
free-throw percentage.
Freshman center Bud Johnson is
also a Freshman All-SEC candidate.
Johnson leads the Gamecocks and is
ranked 14th in the SEC in rebounding
and fifth in blocked shots. In conference
games only, Johnson ranks first among
freshmen in rebounding and blocked
shots.
1 1
versity Union
ations For
ember 1996
iary19,1996
immunity)
ry 21,1996
immunity)
izations February 23,1996
ttery on February 23,1996)
:>r other
le Carolina Community, pg. 41)
served until August 30, 1996.
immunity)
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3
Sports Briefs Associated
TENNIS
SAN JOSE, Calif. ? Pete Sampras
easily defeated Andre.Agassi 6-2,63
on Sunday to win the Sybase Open
and regain the No. 1 ranking.
GOLF
HONOLULU ? Jim Furyk, forced
to a playoff when Brad Faxon eagled
the last hole"of regulation with a 45foot
putt, won the Hawaiian Open
on Sunday with a birdie on the third
.extra hole.
Furyk, who earned $216,000 for
his second career victory, closed with
a 3-under-par 69 and Faxon shot a
70 for 11-under 277 totals on the
Waialae course.
LUTZ, Fla. ? Jack Nicklaus shot a
4-under-par 67 on Sunday for a onestroke
victory over J.C. Snead in the
GTE Suncoast Classic.
Nicklaus, who earned $112,500 .
for his ninth Senior PGA Tour title,
had a 2-under 211 total on the TPC
of Tampa Bay. Snead closed with a
65.
SKIING
SIERRA NEVADA, Spain ? Picabo
Street won the women's downhill
Sunday in the world championships
and U.S. teammate Hilary Lindh
finished third as North Americans
took four of the first five places.
Austria's Patrick Ortlieb won the
men's downhill Saturday, beating
Italy's Kristian Ghedina by 0.27
seconds. Ortlieb, 28, the 1992 Olympic
cnampion, completed tne iz,ao^-ioot
course in 2:00.17.
BASKETBALL
ANN ARBOR, Mich. ? Michigan
freshman Robert Traylor broke his
right arm and four teammates and
a recruit escaped serious injury early
Saturday when their vehicle rolled
over while returning from a party in
Detroit.
Starting gu&rd Maurice Taylor
was driving the Ford Explorer along
Michigan highway 14 when the
accident occurred at 4:50 a.m.,
Washtenaw Sheriffs Sgt Carl Werner
said. Police said alcohol was not
considered a factor in the accident
and that Taylor was given a careless
driving citation.
TRACK AND FIELD
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -Bob
Kempainen won the U.S. men's
Olympic marathon trials Saturday
in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 45 seconds.
Kempainen, a 29-year-old medical
student at the University of
Minnesota, earned $100,000, the
biggest first-place prize in marathon
history.
Mark Coogan of Boulder, Colo.,
was second in 2:13:05 and Keith
Brantly of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
followed in 2:13:22 to take the final
spot in the Atlanta Games.
>? "% si
8
n
GAME!
Sports Calenda
Women's I
Thursday, February 22 '
Saturday, February 24 '
Frank McC
Men's B<
Wednesday, February 21
Frank McC
Men's
Sunday, February 25 vs.
& vs. Davidsi
Field
Base
Friday, February 23 v<
Saturday, February 241
Sunday, February 251
Sarge
Sofi
Saturday, February 24 v
Softball
For Ticket Info. 777-4274 Detail
7
Press
OLYMPICS
TAMPA, Fla ? Two major rules
changes involving the behavior of
Olympic athletes ? random drug
testing and a code of conduct ?
received preliminaiy approval Sunday
from the U.S. Olympic Committee.
The USOCs governing executive
committee agreed in principle to order
all Olympic sports to stage out-ofcompetition
drug tests on short notice.
The committee will pick up the entire
$1.5 million annual pricetag for the
package, the toughest anti-doping
nmcrram in flip world.
It also gave a tentative OK to
changes in the code of conduct for
U.S. Olympic athletes. The revision
would give the USOC control over
Olympians up to 45 days before entry
deadlines and would force all team
members to accept the code without
changes or be haired from the squad.
FOOTBALL
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. ?The
Jacksonville Jaguars signed former
Pittsburgh tackle Leon Searcy to a
five-year contract Sunday that makes
the free agent the NFL's highestpaid
offensive lineman.
The contract is worth $17 million
over five years, including a $5 million
signing bonus. It tops the five-year,
$15.5 million deal Atlanta tackle Bob
Whitfield signed Thursday.
BASEBALL
NEW YORK ? Players upped their
arbitration record to 7-2 on Saturday
when Minnesota's Chuck Knoblauch
was awarded a $4.67 million salary
for 1996.
Knoblauch, who had a salary of
$2,987,500 last season, had been
offered $4 million by the Twins, but
arbitrator Anthony Sinicropi-ruled
for the second baseman. Knoblauch's
award was the highest this year.
HORSE RACING
ARCADIA, Calif. ? Serena's Song
beat Twice The Vice by 11/4 lengths
Saturday in the $155,800 Santa Maria
Handicap at Santa Anita.
FIGURE SKATING
ST. PETERSBURG Russia ? Irina
Slutskaya won the women's title
Sunday in the Centennial on Ice to
complete a Russian sweep.
Ilya Kulik won the men's
competition Saturday, while Oksana
Gritschuk and Yevgeny Platov took |H
the ice dance title and Yevgeniya
Shishkova and Vadim Naumov won ||
the pairs competition.
BOXING I
PRETORIA, South Africa ?
Unbeaten Philip Holiday of South
Africa retained his IBF lightweight
title Saturday, stopping American H
John Lark in the 10th round. Holiday
is 27-0.
tudent Media I
The University ot South Carolina
I
tnrr^Tpnl
I uw u o
lOCKsl
ir For The Week
Basketball
vs. Alabama at 7pm
Kentucky at 7pm
iuire Arena
asketball
vs. Florida at 7:30pm
iuire Arena
Tennis I
James Madison at 10aml
on at 2:30pm
House
?ball
Richmond at 7pm &
vs. Richmond at 2pm & I
vs. Richmond at 2pm
Fry Field
tball B
rs. Georgia Tech at 1pm I
I Complex
s Contact: USC Sports Info. 777-5204