Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

GAMECOCK ATHLETICS Mens' Basketball vs. Arkansas Tuesday, 9:30 p.m. Frank McGuire Arena Women's Basketball vs. Auburn Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. Frank McGuire Arena I NOT H ON BRYAN JOHNSTON Sports Editor The Lady Gamecock softball team showed why they're ranked No. 9 in the nation Sunday, sweeping UNC 1-0 and 10-8. A mixture of great pitching and timely hitting helped give the Lady Gamecocks (2-0) their first victories of the season. "On the whole, I think it was a good opening day," head coach Joyce Compton said. "The important thing is, we got away with the W's and got a little experience." In the first game, senior twotime All-American Trinity Johnson threw a perfect game. Johnson gave up no runs, no hits, no walks and struck out 12 to lead USC to a 1-0 opening-game victory. Johnson (W, 1-0) was dominating, striking out nine straight Tarheels nno nmnf UK V11V I^Vlllb. "My riseball was working today," Johnson said. "I threw nothing but [riseballs] for 3 1/2 innings." "T.J. worked extremely well today," catcher Tina Hew said. "We didn't have to mix things up too much." USC was scheduled to play three doubleheaders this weekend, but rain forced the cancellation of two. Johnson contributed that to the slow start. "I think everybody was a little anxious in the first game, especially at the plate, because everyone expected to go two days earlier," Compton said. "We were swinging bats like we were very anxious and very impatient and not very disciplined." The lone run in the first game came in the third inning. Sophomore Kendra McCutcheon led off the inning with an infield hit Chanda Lee moved ho* to second with a bunt Both runners advanced when sophomore Kim Pietro drew a walk. That set the stage for senior Plew's heroics. Carolina to STAFF REPORTS Some of the top women athletes in the country will converge on Columbia in late March as the University of South Carolina hosts the 1997 NCAA Women's Basketball East Regional. There will be two games March 22 at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Carolina Coliseum. The winners will meet for the championship March 24. The start time for the championship game has not been announced. The tirst game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. The two subsequent games will be seen on ESPN. The champion will advance to the Women's Final Four in Cincinnati the following weekend. For the last three years, the winner of the East Regional has gone on to win the NCAA Championship. "We are very excited to have such high caliber women's basketball at the Carolina Coliseum," tournament manager and USC Associate Athletics Director Laurie Massa said. "People in the Midlands, throughout the state and across the country will have a chance to see great athletes and exciting competition." Adults can purchase a ticket book for all three games for $20. Youth and senior citizens will pay just $10. Tickets are on sale at the USC Ticket Office at the Athletic Center on Rosewood w 8 SPORTS ( si ITTING I HER With no one out, the AilAmerican catcher drove a pitch to right field. UNC's Colleen Lefferts caught the ball, but her throw to home was not in time, allowing McCutcheon to cross the plate for what proved to be the game-winning run. "I just went in there and tried to make contact," Plew said. "I've been struggling, just dipping under the ball, and I just needed to put [the ball] in play." That one run was enough as Johnson cruised the rest of the way, picking up the fourth no-hitter and second perfect game of her career. The second game was a complete contrast of the first one. The Lady Gamecocks jumped out to an early 7-2 lead and held on for the 10-8 victory. The bats awoke from an earlyseason slumber as the two teams combined for 20 hits and 18 runs in the second contest. The Tarheels scored their first i/wu i luJo ui uic cuteiiiuuii ill uic iii&t inning when Crystal Henderson and Lorin Slade crossed the plate. But the Lady Gamecocks came back strong in the bottom half of the inning, scoring seven runs on six hits, while sending 11 batters to the plate. Lee led off the rally with a base hit up the middle. McCutcheon reached on an error by UNCs second baseman, Kim Stewart, which advanced Lee to second Hew picked up another RBI with a single to left field. Freshman Kim Schultze drove in McCutcheon with a single. Carrie Elliott reached on a fielder's choice. Plew scored on a catching error by UNC's Megan Smith. Pitcher Sky Brown then drove in Schultze with a bloop single to right field. A pitching change by UNC made little difference. The Lady Gamecocks continued to score after Kelly host NCAA i Drive, or by calling (803) 777-4274. USC has hosted I worn en's region al H basketball games on five I previous occasions, but I this will be the first time I the finals have been held I here. Sites for the other WW! women's regionals include Purdue University in BnMjahjfl West Lafayette. IN, the I University of Iowa in I Tnmo C* \ + v o n fl tVio i u ii u vmj u 11 u vu v University of Montana I in Missoula. This event will be just I another in a long line of I women's athletic events I that Columbia has hosted I in the last year. It all started last year I with the U.S. Women's Olympic Trials Marathon, and continued with the I SEC women's volleyball I tournament that the Lady I Gamecocks9 hosted at I their new facility on I campus. Last week, the city I hosted the Women's National Marathon, whose winners advanced Lady Gameo to the World Cup year. Ramse; championships later this some tured In the 1 1. I Coach Kent Demars' USC Men's won two matches last Monday t< year veteran his 400th career vi< Jerome Jourdon's two victorie shutout JMU 7-0 ]%] to give the coach a*. MAS! victory. Against Charleston Southern J< again led the way to give Demars lk^ )N WEDNESDAY A look at be *o >. #: ;:;r i, > ? m * ' $ ? W\\\mmi.mmw ??? $?& ?? , s <> Swaf* s ssiS * ^ :''--- : y . 'x" ' ' -: #> ' ' ' - . : :- '"::X Lady Gamecock softballer Trinity perfect game in the season opener Dammer's single down the third base line drove in Elliott. Pietro then reached on a fielder's choice, and Lee came to the plate again and drove in Brown. Pietro eventually scored on a throwing error by Slade to end the scoring for the inning. The Lady Gamecocks didn't score again until the bottom of the sixth, when they pushed three more runs across. Freshman Sondra Hall's triple to deep left field, which drove in Hew was the highlight of the inning. That was all USC would need as pitcher? Nikki Beers and Sky Brown (W, 1-0) closed the door on the Tarheels. Women's Ea ^Br \ x $m<M-" i vtl ' ?ck junior Audrey Ramsey goes up y is a leader on the Lady Gamecoc : very tough competition in the SEC East Regional to be held March 22 a Tennis team ^fl|| ) five the 23 :tory. Led by s the Cocks rivic ^ ^ ^ ^ ? - # ?ggj ourdon once aseball at the Citgo Southern 1 . w\:- , ' .... . * * / >- " l?liM % ' -mm " " *" sBRYAN JOHNSTON The Gamecock Johnson pitched a no-hitter and against UNC. Senior right fielder Chanda Lee was strong at the plate for USC. The All-American went a combined 4-5 on the day with four singles, one RBI and a stolen base. "It's nice always to come out good," Lee said. "I think we have a lot more potential. As a whole, I think we did what we needed to do to win the games and that's obviously our goal." South Carolina travels to Las Vegas, Nev., this weekend for the UNLV Softball Classic. USC will face No. 2 UCLA, Washington, Utah State, Cal Poly and New Mexico. Their next home game is Wed., March 12 at 3 p.m. against Furman. st Regional w bobb pi mm ^^rTk. JSflHL ji B Bkk IB jH HI J9H ROBERT WALTON The Gamecock for a shot in a game earlier this k team that has struggled of late !. Some of those teams will be feand 24 at Carolina Coliseum. a The last time that a large amoi fan: and students gathered c a:,... R greet a team home was whe football team arrived to find sands of fans lining the path I team bus. On TPWJ I Saturday night a LAST Tilt group of at least 2,000 fans g the basketball team from Cincin i Challenge wr\?^i The Gamecocks cold nets in Cin LARRY WILLIAMS Senior Writer The Gamecocks showed Saturday against Cincinnati they're not going anywhere. Anywhere but up, that is. Rebounding from its Feb. 12 loss to Georgia, the No. 12 USC menls basketball team pulled off a remarkable 97-83 upset on the No. 8 Bearcats' home floor Saturday. The Gamecocks (18-6,12-1 SEC) rebounded from a 5-point, secondhalf deficit with a 13-1 run to put away the Bearcats, whose record dropped to 19-5. The win, the Gamecocks' 13th in their last 14 games, was perhaps just as huge as their Feb. 4 win over Kentucky, as it all but solidified a high seed in the NCAA Tournament for USC, which won its fourth game against a Top 25 opponent. The loss snapped Cincinnati's five-game winning streak. Three of UC's five losses have come against ranked opponents. USCs No. 12 ranking, which was in jeopardy after the Georgia loss, is still in question. But instead of the Gamecocks dropping in the polls, they'll likely pick up a few spots after Saturday's win. The Associated Press Top 25 will be released this afternoon. "This was an outstanding win for the University of South Carolina basketball team today," USC coach Eddie Fogler said. "This is a huge win for us. There are not many teams that can beat Cincinnati in Cincinnati." It was a game that saw the Gamecocks stun the Bearcats and the ABC-TV audience with an incredible 3-point shooting effort. USC, which opened the first half with seven consecutive shots from beyond the 3-point arc, went on to sink 15 of their 24 trey attempts for a 62.5 percentage. To put those blistering numbers into proper perspective, the Gamecocks made 25 of their 51 shots from the field for a 49 percent shooting clip. The 15 3-pointers made was a school record, the previous high being 14 last season at Georgia. If Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins feared USC's three guards ? Larry Davis, BJ McKie and Melvin Watson, who have scored the majority of the Gamecocks' points all season ? before the game, he might have nightmares of the "Triple Threat" for a long time to come. Living to form, the trio scored 74 of USC's 97 points, including 12 combined 3pointers, in bombing the Bearcats. The senior Davis, who blistered the nets for 24 points in the Georgia loss, continued his shooting barrage, pouring in 32 points on 5-12 shooting. Davis, who made 5-10 3-pointers, was near-perfect from the free throw line, making 17-20 tosses. In their win over the 13-point favorite Bearcats, the Gamecocks got needed help from forward Ryan IITUA MTOfi rv?rtw\ nr* fnv fVin UldLlV, W1IU VYCW 111U1C LilCUl Lip IVi U1C challenge. The junior made five of his seven attempts from the field, including three of four 3-point attempts. The Gamecocks appeared determined to win by shooting from outside. Davis and Watson got little rest, logging 38 minutes apiece. And Watson, who scored 17 points, logged only two assists ? rare for a player who regularly registers double digits in the assist column. It was certainly a day for shooters, as Davis, McKie, Watson and Stack combined to score 87 of USC's 97 points. Other than William Gallman int of South Carolina has never A ;t the fceaten the Razcrbacks as >rt to ^ey jlo|(j a 5.Q serjes 11. 1( advantage. Last year the ' Gamecocks lost to the Hogs at Fayetteville by a IT llC 81-69 score. The last time .1 that Arkansas visited Columbia they won 88-73. Th IJCj years SEC Tournament and t round in New Orleans, LA. T reeted two teams was in 1992 when ' inati BASKETBALL SCOREBOARD Indiana 84 #14 Michigan 81 N.C. State 60 #2 Wake Forest 59 \/f U' AO mciiik'ius yjL. #23 Tulane 56 melt down the cinnati, 97-83 (two points), Nate Wilbourne (four points) and Bud Johnson (four points), no other Gamecock scored. Freshman guard Herbert Davis, who had the hot hand in games prior to Saturday's, managed only two minutes of playing time in the heat of the other guards' sizzling performance. Sophomore guard McKie made five of his eight attempts from the field for 25 points, along with 12-17 free throw attempts. McKie scored 21 of his 25 points in the second half. After Danny Fortson made a 10foot jumper from the lane to give the Bearcats a 66-61 lead in the second half, the Gamecocks went on their pivotal ld-i run. "We go up by five and decide that we don't want to throw it inside for some reason," Huggins said. Tm not sure what went into that decision. We're up screaming to get into something and they shoot it before we even get into something. "I don't understand what we're thinking about sometimes," Huggins said. The Gamecocks, who missed crucial free throws down the stretch against Georgia, made up for that showing by making 29-35 free throws in the second half. For the game, USC was good on 32-40 attempts from the charity stripe. Fogler, who during USC's 12game winning streak was reluctant to praise his squad, let his guard down after the win. "Neither team could stop the other team in the first half, (but) we stepped it up," Fogler said. * Tm pretty damned pleased about it. They fouled us a lot and we are a good free-throw shooting team." Superb shooting wasn't limited to the Gamecocks. While it was forward Danny Fortson whom USC was worried about before the game, guard Donnell Burton instead represented the Gamecocks' biggest threat. Burton tallied 30 points on 11-13 shooting. Burton was almost as hot as USC from 3-point range, hitting on five of his 11 tries. Fortson, who came into the game averaging 22L7 points per game, never quiteApt on track offensively. of double and triple teams by the Gamecocks, the Naismith Award candidate managed 17 points in 33 minutes of play. Cincinnati forward Ruben Patterson scored 19 points for the Bearcats. At the outset of the game, USC's play foreshadowed what was to come. Larry Davis nailed two shots ? one a 3-pointer ? to give the Gamecocks a quick 5-0 lead. A nip-and-tuck first half appeared headed in Cincinnati's favor when they had a 40-39 lead with 30 seconds left. A Watson 3-pointer with 18 seconds left, and then a layup by Watson following a steal, gave USC the momentum and a 44-40 lead going into halftime. All told, the Gamecocks made nine 3-pointers in the first half. Next game: The Gamecocks' next men's basketball game will be against the University of Arkansas in a nationally televised contest at 9:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast by ESPN, who showed Carolina's 8479 victory over Kentucky. The game will be contested at the Frank McGuire Arena. If you can't get a ticket or catch the game on cable, then Charlie McAlexander, Casey Manning, and Steve Stewart will have the call on 560 AM-WVOC. lRKANSAS ERIES IISTORY ie two teams faced each other at last _ i* oa ro ? a. _ _ _ i ne nogs won ou-oo in me secona he first ever meeting between the the Cocks lost 89-73 at Arkansas.