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. USC Schedule /^V ' 'ST ■ Women’s basketball at Nevada, Friday L 1 I VI I I ■ Men’s basketball vs. Furman, Saturday Wednesday, December 1,1999 Lady Tigers claw Gamecocks ! Women’s Basketball roundup Gamecock Sports The Clemson Tigers continued their winning streak against USC teams in the past two years by crushing the Lady Game cock basketball team Monday night, 65 46. The Lady Tigers (4-1) have won five straight over USC in women’s basketball, adding on to Clemson’s string of 15 con secutive wins over USC athletic teams. Carolina, meanwhile, scored their lowest point total since Coach Susan Walvius took over the program three years ago. “That was not at all what we expect I ed,” USC senior forward Annie Lester said. I “We prepared for Clemson all week. This game was not how we’ve been practicing or playing.” USC had started 3-0 before running in to defending Atlantic Coast Conference Champion Clemson. The Lady Gamecocks haven’t won at Clemson’s Littlejohn Col iseum since 1986. “You could never have told me that tliis is how it would play out,” Walvius said. “We were like deer in headlights.” USC went into the matchup averaging nearly 80 points per game, but Clemson coach Jim Davis’s active zone defense smothered the USC offense by forcing 29 turnovers and giving the Lady Tigers sev eral fast breaks. Also, USC couldn’t connect from the 3-point stripe, shooting five-for-17. USC was down 15 early in the sec ond half, but got within 10 on a Crishna Hill 3-pointer and a Shaunzinski Gortman jumper, making it 36-26 with 15:42 left. Walvius called a timeout to gather her team for a final run. However, Clemson made the run, scor ing the game’s next 13 points while USC went on an 8:48-long scoring drought on its way to a 36-percent shooting perfor mance. The next time the Lady Gamecocks scored, the Lady Tigers led 49-29 with 6:54 left. The victory was Clemson’s third win over a Southeastern Conference team this season. USC was led by eight points from Hill, followed by seven from Gortman and six rebounds from Shannon Segres. Clemson guard Noria Foms led all scorers with 17 points, while Chrissy Floyd had 13, in cluding seven consecutive points late in the second half to snuff out a USC rally. Cen ter Erin Batth also grabbed 12 rebounds in the rout. The Lady Tigers will travel to neigh boring Furman on Thursday for their next game, while USC will play Nevada at the Wells Faigo Tournament on Friday and Sat urday. photos by Sean Rayford Far left, Shannon Segres battles for a loose ball last week against Florida A&M with center Petra Ujhelyi, 00, looks on. Left, Shaun Gortman, tries for a layup. Although USC beat the Rattierettes and began the season 3-0, Clemson handed the Lady Gamecocks their first loss Monday, 65 46. Charlie Wallace Senior Writer Thank God for USC basketball The end of a semester is always depressing. In my three years at Carolina, the end of the fall se mester is synonymous with a losing football team, failing my exams, and the fact that I’ll be away from my friends for an entire month. I love my family greatly, but there’s something about being home that long that bores me to death. Maybe it’s the fact that I don’t have random people in my room every night anymore, or maybe it’s the fact that Christmas time signifies another winter without Carolina in a bowl game. Or maybe it’s the fact that I go to bed at 11:00 every night because I suddenly have no life. Whatever the case, with the close of a year, and in this case, a millenni um, winter sucks. It’s cold outside and I’m from the South. However, one good thing about winter is that spring is just around the corner, and the way the men’s basketball team has been play ing, spring opens up an avenue of ex citement and expectations. Basketball always serves as a panacea for the harsh reality that is Car olina’s football program. Last year was the first year in a while where bas ketball wasn’t able to soothe the pains that football left upon me. A familiar battle cry for Carolina fans of late has been: “At least there’s basketball.” Last year’s 8-21 season took everyone by surprise and, cou pled with a 1-10 football campaign, 1998-’99 was just plain awful. 1 am convinced that those two sports, cou pled with a stressful job, resulted in my receding hairline last semester. However, every time 1 look in the mirror lately, more of my previously lost hair has been growing back (no, I’m not lying or taking Propecia). I think it’s a sign that Carolina basket ball is going to be pretty exciting this year. After USC’s surprising win over Virginia on Thanksgiving Day and sub sequent three-point loss to No. 3 Michi gan State the day after, this year’s ver sion of the basketball team seems significantly better then last year’s. It will be interesting to see how six contributing freshmen develop throughout the season. One aspect these fresh faces seem to possess is that they seem to have no fear or expectations to live up to. Of course, Carolina always seems to rise to the occasion when it’s con sidered the underdog, but the Game cocks crash to the ground when ex pectations are placed on their shoul ders (case in point: NCAA Tournaments 1997-98). USC, picked by many publications to finish dead last in the SEC East, has nowhere to go but up after last year’s debacle when it became painful to watch a basketball game. Coach Ed die Fogler is a master at player devel opment and in the past has made av erage players better. With a little talent to work with, as well as some confidence, this year’s squad may turn some heads. USC could conceivably win the rest of their home games before con ference play starts, with the exception of UNC-Charlotte. Christmas break might be very kind to the Gamecocks, and some wins will help the team’s confidence heading in to SEC play. And in college sports, con fidence and motivation play a big role. The team is actually in a great po sition. With another frustrating foot ball season, one in which this year’s team could easily defeat last year’s de spite the winless record, the basketball team has the potential to be the dar ling of the SEC. The play of center Tony Kitch ings and guard Chuck Eidson has been very surprising so far. Kitchings, who looked oftentimes dazed and confused early last year, has shown a new tough side to him that will be so important. After a slow start in the exhibition games, Eidson is starting to prove that a private school guy can indeed play at this level. Anyone who averages 30 points a game in any league has some talent. Let’s just hope that Rolando How ell doesn’t change the chemistry of this team next year when he takes the world by storm, as he has predicted. So, with winter in full swing, let’s hope the basketball team can make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside this hol iday season. And hopefully it will be quick, before I lose any more hair. Charlie Wallace usually writes a col umn on Mondays. He can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail. com. The Slate __ National Football Conference East Division W L Home Road Div Str Washington 7 4 4-2 3-2 4-3 W-2 Dallas 6 5 5-0 1-5 3-3 W-l New York Giants 5 6 3-3 2-3 3-4 L-3 Arizona 5 6 3-3 2-3 4-2 W-3 Philadelphia 3 9 2-4 1-5 2-4 L-2 Central Division Detroit 7 4 5-1 2-3 4-1 W-l Minnesota 7 4 4-2 3-2 2-3 W-5 Tampa Bay 7 4 4-1 3-3 1-3 W-4 Green Bay 6 5 4-2 2-3 3-2 W-2 Chicago 5 7 2-3 3-4 2-3 L-l West Division St. Louis 9 2 6-0 3-2 6-0 W-3 Carolina 5 6 3-2 2-4 2-3 W-2 San Francisco 3 8 3-3 1-4 1-3 L-7 Atlanta 2 9 1-4 1-5 2-3 L-3 New Orleans 2 9 2-4 0-5 2-3 L-2 * f f American Football Conference East Division W L Home Road Div Str Indianapolis 9 2 5-1 4-1 3-2 W-7 Miami 8 3 4-1 4-2 3-2 L-l Buffalo 8 4 5-1 3-3 4-2 W-l New England 6 5 3-2 3-3 2-4 L-3 New York Jets 4 7 2-4 2-3 2-4 L-l Central Division Jacksonville 10 1 4-1 6-0 5-1 W-8 Tennessee 9 2 5-0 4-2 7-0 W-3 PittcHlirarh ^ A 1 A-1 'X-A T -'X Baltimore 4 7 1-4 3-3 3-4 L-l Cleveland 2 10 0-6 2-4 1-7 L-2 Cincinnati 2 10 0-6 1-5 1-6 L-7 West Division Seattle 8 3 4-2 4-1 3-1 L-l Kansas City 6 5 4-1 2-4 3-2 W-l Oakland 5 6 3-3 2-3 1-4 L-2 San Diego 4 7 2-4 2-3 2-3 L-6 Denver 4 7 2-3 2-4 3-2 W-l y i * Tuesday’s Top News • Dayton upsets No. 13 Kentucky in NCAA men’s basketball • Karl Malone passes Michael Jordan on the NBA career scoring list • Panther wide receiver Rae Carruth, charged with shooting his preg nant girlfriend, is unable to post $3 million bail • QB Ryan Leaf apolo gizes and returns to Chargers • LSU hires Michigan State coach Nick Saban to replace Gerry DiNardo Bowl Schedule Las Vegas Bowl Dec. 18 MWC No. 2 or at-laige vs. Fresno Slate (8-4) Heritage Bowl Dec. 18 MEAC vs. SWAC Mobile Alabama Bowl Dec. 22 Texas Christian (6-4) vs. East Carolina (9-2) Aioha Bowl Dec. 25 Arizona State (6-5) vs. Wake Forest (6-5) Oahu Bowl Dec. 25 Oregon State (74) vs. Hawaii (8-3) Motor City Bowl Dec. 27 Marshall (11-0) or Western Micliigan (74) vs. at-laige Alamo Bowl Dec. 28 Big 12 No. 4 vs. Penn Slate (9-3) Dec. 29 SEC vs. at-Iaige Holiday Bowl Dec. 29 Kansas Slate (10-1) vs. Washington (7-4) Dec. 30 Boise State (9-3) vs. CUSA Micronpc.com Bowl Dec. 30 Vnginia (7-4) vs. Illinois (7-4) Peach Bowl Dec. 30 SEC vs. Clemson (6-5) lnsight.com Bowl! Dec. 31 Big East vs. Big 12 No. 5 Sun Bowl Dec 31 Oregon (8-3) vs. Minnesota (8-3) Liberty Bowl Dec. 31 MWC No. 1 vs. Southern Mississippi (8-3) Independence Bowl Dec. 31 SEC vs. Big 12 Outback Bowl ?wg«8SSi§5B§wwKwCTWfl8SMffiw8KiMC@fi8WflmwBiw^8SwwwwwW? Jan. 1 SEC vs. Purdue (74) Cotton Bowl Jan. 1 Texas (9-3)/ Nebraska (10-1) loser vs. SEC Gator Bowl Jan. 1 GeoigiaTech (8-3) vs. Big East No. 2 Citrus Bowl Jan. 1 Florida (9-2)/Alabama (9-2) loser vs. Michigan State (9-2) Rose Bowl Jan. 1 Stanford (7-3) vs. Wisconsin (9-2) Orange Bowl .. f v < $§&§$ *•*.••• ' < Jan. 1 BCS vs. BCS ' 'ml * " 'yy V' 1 ' &§£$ Fiesta Bowl Jan. 2 BCS vs. BCS Sugar Bowl Jan. 4 Florida State (11-0) vs. Virginia Tech (11-0) or Nebraska (10-1) (Nation?*! Championship)