University of South Carolina Libraries
Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Men’s basketball vs. Kentucky, 1 p.m. Saturday ■ Softball vs. North Carolina, 1 p.m. Saturday ■ Baseball vs. Wofford, 3 p.m. Saturday ■ Women’s basketball at Ole Miss, 3 p.m. Sunday Che (gamecock Friday, February 2, 200l| USC backcourt too much for Tigers Bradley, Lucas combine for 45 points in 68-56 win over LSU by Steven Drummond The Gamecock Aaron Lucas and Jamel Bradley will tell you they haven’t played their best basketball of late after putting up a 2-for-19 combined shooting performance against Auburn and a 9-for-24 showing against Florida this past weekend. But Wednesday night against LSU, it was redemption time for the starting USC backcourt. Bradley scored a career-high 25 points and Lucas added 20 as South Carolina rolled over LSU with a 68-56 victory. Lucas and Bradley knew they would need to have big games to get the Gamecocks out of their recent slide. “[Bradley] looked me in my eyes, and I looked him in his eyes, and I said ‘we’re juniors on this team, and we’re going to have to step up and help out’” Lucas said. “And we both took the challenge.” “He came out on fire, and I just kept looking for him.” bourn Carolina u i-/, j-4 btcj went into the game having lost five of their last seven games after an 8-2 start, but they managed to shake off the losing streak and grab its first SEC road win. The game started off slowly, with both teams missing a lot of easy shots, but then Bradley caught fire. The junior guard from Beckley, W.Va., hit a career-high seven 3-pointers. Six of those were in the first half. He finished 7-for-10 from behind the arc. USC came out with a lot of energy in the second half. They opened up a 10-point lead four minutes into the half when Lucas hit a driving basket to put the Gamecocks ahead 47-37. The Gamecocks hit 43 percent of its shots from the field compared to LSU’s 38 per 68 56 cent. LSU trimmed the South Carolina lea to six points with 1:46 left in the game but the Tigers could get no closer as th< Gamecocks went on an 8-2 run down th< stretch, guided by a Bradley steal and : Kitchings dunk. “We just came out and brought a lit tie bit more energy, a lot mori enthusiasm, and tried to pick up th< ■ intensity on defense,” Lucas said of th< team’s second-half adjustments. USC head coach Eddie Fogler wa proud of the effort his team displayed “I thought we played much better ii the second half,” he said. “We finally started making some threes. Jamel, o course, shot the ball extremely well. Some times an ugly win is better than a grea loss.” Bradley hopes this trend-of shootinj the ball well can be carried int< Saturday’s game. “I had a good feeling tonight after hit my first couple of threes, and it jus flowed right through (the game),” he said “Hopefully I can carry that on the rest o the season.” The loss gave LSU (11-7, l-6)itswors SEC start since the Tigers started 0-6 ir 1969. Ronald Dupree led LSU with If points and six rebounds. Torris Brigh added 12 points. USC will now return home Saturday to face .the Kentucky Wildcats it another key SEC game. Tip-off i: scheduled for 1 p.m. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@holmail.com January 31,2001, Maravich Assembly Center, Baton Rouge, La SOUTH CAROLINA 68, LSU 56 SOUTH CAROLINA (11-7,3-4 SEC) Petravicius 2-2 2-6 6, Grant 1-5 0-0 2, Kitchings 3-8 0-1 6, Lucas 6-11 7 9 20, Bradley 8-16 2-2 25, Ross 0-2 2-3 2, Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Boynton 14 0-0 3, Clemmons 0-1 0-0 0, Howell 24 0-0 4. Totals 23-53 13-21 68. LSU (11-7,1-6) |V Beshara 3-9 0-0 9, Dupree 6-15 6-8 19, Bright 5-10 0-0 12, Williams 0-2 0- 0 0, Temple m 2-12 1-2 5, Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Wilson 4-5 0-0 8, Winner 1- 10-0 3. Totals 21-55 7-1056. Halftime—South Carolina 35, LSU 35.3-Point goals—South Carolina 9-22 (Grant 0-1, Kitchings 0-1, Lucas 1-4, Bradley 7-10, Ross 0-2, Boynton 1-4), LSU 7-24 (Beshara 3-7, Dupree 14, Bright 2-6, Temple in 0-6, Warner 1-1). Fouled out—Bright. Rebounds—South Carolina 38 (Grant 11), LSU 31 (Be shara, Dupree, Temple 6). Assists—South Carolina 13 (Lucas 4), LSU 11 (Be shara, Dupree, Temple 3). Total fouls—South Carolina 15, LSU 19. A— 7,197. Sean Rayford/The Gamecock USC point guard Aaron Lucas poured in 20 points against LSU Wednesday night Lucas and teammate Jamel Bradley combined for two-thirds of the Gamecock offensive output USC athletes’ grades reach all-time high in fall of 2000 ■ 14 of 17 varsity sports improve from a year ago by Kyle Almond The Gamecock USC student-athletes have improved immensely at the academic level, as the combined grade point average for the fall 2000 semester was an all-time high. The 2.874 combined GR\ for all 17 varsity sports teams replaces the previous high of 2.834 set last spring. Fourteen of the 17 teams showed an increase in their GR\ from a year ago, and this past fall, nine of those teams were above a 3.0. “The academic performance of our student-athletes continues to show steady progress, both as an overall department and with the individual achievements that have been accomplished,” USC athletics director Mike McGee said. i ne women s gou team iook top honors among the 17 sports with a 3.569 GPA. Below it was men’s swimming (3.397), women’s tennis (3.351), equestrian (3.236), men’s soccer (3.126), men’s golf (3.120), women’s soccer (3.119), softball (3.056) and women’s track (3.048). “The student-athletes and coaches should be commended for their focus and efforts in making academics a priority,” McGee said. The sports who were on the low er end of the GFA spectrum this past year also saw improvement The foot ball team saw their GPA increase from 2.305 to 2.459, and the men’s basketball team went up to a 2.648 after having a 2.312 GPA last spring. In addition, 24 athletes earned a perfect 4.0 and were named to the President’s List. One hundred twelve athletes were above a 3.5 and made the Dean’s List. Nearly half of USC’s student-athletes had a GPA of 3.0 or higher. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com Last year’s softball team endured early setbacks on way to NCAA finish by Jason Malick The Gamecock Anyone who followed the 2000 South Carolina softball team could recall that the Lady Gamecocks had a phenomenal season with a 41-28 record. Besides Carolina’s outstand ing record, the softball team also won the SEC Tournament. However, the season looked grim at its beginning , as the Lady Gamecocks made the long haul to the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Phoenix, Az. To set the stage for the hardships the team would have to face, Carolina would go head-to-head against three top 10 teams in the Classic, plus three teams that went to the 1999 Women’s College World Series. The Lady Gamecocks started its season with a tough blow, losing to Texas A&M 4-3, then lost its next three games. But in a quick tum-around, USC earned its first win of the season against Tennessee-Chattanooga. Outfielder Megan Donohoo hit the game- winning homerun, upping the final score to 3-1 in extra-inning play. The Lady Gamecocks continued its winning streak by winning their next seven games. Once the Lady Gamecocks returned to Columbia, the pitching staff threw four-straight shutouts, including no-hitters by Joyce McMillan and Megan Matthews. In what head coach Joyce Compton called one of the best performances of the season, the Lady Gamecocks made a strong showing at the Gladstone’s Tournament in Florida, winning four out of five games. The Lady Gamecocks took the Gladstone’s crown by defeating the Michigan Wolverines 2-1 in 10 innings. USC nabbed their second title in Florida at the USF/Speedline Series by winning seven games in four days. This started an eight-game winning streak that ended with a lose at home to No. 25 Florida. Carolina breezed through the SEC Tournament by beating Kentucky, Alabama and Arkansas, and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional in Tucson, Az. After a 10-0 win against UMass in the NCAA opener, the Lady Gamecocks suffered a setback by Softball seepages I Softball team gears up for home opener BY Nisha Jindal The Gamecock After a 41-28 season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Gamecock softball team is determined to make its way back to the postseason in 2001. USC is already ranked No. 18 in the nation going into the new season and is picked to finish first in the SEC East in the coaches’ preseason poll. For head coach Joyce Compton and the rest of the Lady Gamecocks, the mission is simple. “Our goal is to win the SEC Tournament and the College Wbrld Series,” Compton said. USC will have its work cut out for it self. “The conference is tough from top to bottom,” Compton said. “We play against teams such as Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington, Alabama, Louisiana State, Florida and Arkansas. There will be no letdown before the conference schedule starts. The conference is getting stronger each year. It will be a very competitive season.” The Lady Gamecocks lost five play ers to graduation when they ended the 2000 season, but in their place will be five new freshmen who Compton hopes can fill in successfully. USC lost three veteran infield starters in shortstop Kendra McCutcheon, third baseman Sondra Hall and four-year starting second baseman Kim Schultze. “Wfe have got three inficlders to replace, so a lot is going to be how quick some of the players develop into their positions,” Compton said. “We will he counting on a couple of new players, and it really depends mi how all the freshmen develop. I think hey will have a role this season.” Until the freshmen develop, the Lady Gamecocks will lean on their solid starting Ditching to cany the weight. Junior Megan Matthews and senior Joyce McMillin both lave the pitching speed the team needs to vin games. Matthews, a former All-American and ast season’s MVP of the SEC Tournament, las 55 wins and 545 strikeouts in the last :wo years for Carolina. She will be the team’s lumber one pitcher, followed by McMillin. McMillin, who also plays outfield, went 14-10 last season. Carolina will look for a strong offen sive performance from McMillin and cen ser-fielder Jodi Fittro. McMillin hit four lome runs and hit .298 last season while Fittro hit a team-high .307. This season there will be a change in she SEC schedule. The Lady Gamecocks vill play each team in its division three simes rather than four, in addition to Dlaying two games against each team from she Western division. Compton remains confident of her eam’s chances at getting to the postseason igain, but she realizes the Lady Gamecocks lave a huge question mark in the infield. “I feel that we added some offense this ('ear,” she said. “Our speed has also increased >ome this season. But then the unknowns Df adding three new people in the infield leave a few challenges.” USC faces those :hallenges Saturday at Beckham Field in its season opener against North Carolina. The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksports@hotmail.com a i ,..-■■»»■■..tt....«-.. »a—— ■>■ - «* * Sean Rayford/The Gamecock Megan Matthews will again be the ace of the USC pitching staff.