Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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T^| r\ FTl Cl game schedule CONTACT US I-" I I I—I SWIMMING AND DIVING at Cincinnati, Friday ■ 1 VII I L ^ TRACK AND FIELD at Virginia Tech, Saturday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I \ / I ■ | k J MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Vanderbilt, 7:30 p.m. Saturday Writeusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com -M— v—rv^ WOMEN'S BASKETBALL vs. Kentucky, 3 p.m. Sunday CRUCIAL SEC SHOWDOWN VOLS A CUT ABOVE GAMECOCKS START STRONG, LOSE IN LAST 10 MINUTES Record turnout witnesses hard loss BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK While Thursday evening’s con test against the Tennessee Lady Vols will go in the loss column for the Lady Gamecocks, the atmos phere inside the Carolina Coliseum could be remembered as the liveliest ever. The record-breaking crowd of 12,168 cheered every USC basket, jeered numerous calls and didn’t let up in supporting their team. For days, people formed long lines at the Coliseum box office to snatch up the $1 tickets and check out the matchup between the No. 8 and No. 2 teams in the country. Fans entered the doors on all sides of the Coliseum before the game and quickly grabbed the best seats. From the pre-game warm-ups to the Final buzzer, the Carolina fans emitted a resonating roar, a sound not heard from as large a crowd since 1997. USC’s ability to keep up with Tennessee through the first 25-30 minutes of the game only strengthened the audience’s cheers. Lady Gamecock coach Susan Walvius noted, “I thought the at mosphere was outstanding. We are one of the better teams in the country, and I think we showed it today.” Though the Lady Vols are fa miliar with such hostile road en vironments, as well as intense home games in Knoxville, the Lady Gamecocks had to get used to loud home fans in quite a hurry. Carolina did an admirable job of replying to their faithful, play ing a nip-and-tuck game well into the second half. Despite the intense support, Tennessee began to unravel South Carolina’s dreams of a major up set against the college basketball powerhouse. ♦ CROWD, SEE PAGE 10 Cristina Ciocan looks to make a pass after calling a play during the second half of Thursday’s game against Tennessee. Ciocan led the team with 10 assists on the night. The Lady Gamecocks had a record attendance of 12,168. photo by Robert gruen T Tennessee 80 f| USC 61 -TJ BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK The USC women’s basketball team (14-2, 4-1) had arguably the biggest game in its 28-year histo ry Thursday night against the No. 2 Lady Volunteers as they played for the lead of the Southeastern Conference. Unfortunately for the Lady Gamecocks, Tennessee played strong and never let up. Despite a hard-fought first half by USC, the Lady Vols (15-1,4-0) went on a 19-5 run in the second half to claim the conference lead with a 80-61 win. After losing to Clemson, USC went on a 12-game winning streak that ended Thursday night. The streak tied the second longest win ning in school history. USC head coach Susan Walvius was frustrated with the outcome but thought her players still showed they were among the elite. “Our team really fought tonight,” Walvius said. “I think we showed we were one of the bet ter teams in the country.” The tirst halt was intense tor both teams, with the lead chang ing eight times. USC scored first with a field goal, but the Vols quickly came back and took a 6-4 lead. The Lady Gamecocks would take over again, though, and after tying the game at 10 each they broke out on a 10-0 run to lead 20 10 with 11 minutes remaining in the half. The lead would be USC’s largest of the game. The Lady Vols were quick to re spond, as they played strong de fense and went on a 7-0 run to tighten the margin. A layup by forward Gwen Jackson gave UT the lead again, 25-24, with 5:27 remaining in the half. With a minute left, the Vols were up 35-31 before USC’s Shaunzinski Gortman nailed a 3 pointer to cut the margin to one going into halftime. The Gamecocks took no time, regaining the lead in the second half when Gortman stole the ball from forward Shyra Ely and as sisted center Petra Ujhelyi on a layup. • “Our team really fought tonight. I think we showed we were one of the better teams in the country.” SUSAN WALVIUS use WOMEN S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH The next five minutes featured four lead changes, and it seemed as if Carolina was beginning to pull away after two free throws by forward Teresa Geter made the score 45-42. But the Lady Vols proceeded to go on a 19-5 run to put the game ul timately out of reach for the Lady Guard Kara Lawson was the star for the Volunteers. On the team’s game-clinching run, she scored four field goals - including two 3-pointers - three rebounds, a steal and an assist to secure the win for Tennessee. Forward Jocelyn Penn was the leader for the Gamecocks with 19 points and four rebounds. Gortman finished with 16 points and three steals, while Ujhelyi had seven steals and three rebounds. The Lady Gamecocks were out rebounded 39-25. They now trail the overall series with Tennessee 28-1. But despite the loss, Walvius thinks this was a learning experi ence for her team. “I thought our fight was there, but at the same time I think we’re capable of playing smarter,” she said. “But we’re going to be better because of this game.” Comments on this story? Write gamecocksports@hotmail.com / Men’s team slips by Hogs Gamecocks hold Arkansas scoreless after Bradley’s game-winning shot g USC 62 ■4^ Arkansas 60 v by CARLA WYNN the gamecock It was another nail-biting fin ish for the USC men’s basketball team, but this time, the Gamecocks were the victors, de feating Arkansas 62-60 Wednesday night in Fayetteville, Ark. After the game, USC head coach Dave Odom expressed relief after defeating a team of Arkansas’ cal iber for his first SEC win. “We are very pleased with our w^n at Arkansas last night,” Odom said Thursday. “I thought our team showed a measure of confidence that I haven’t seen all year,” Odom said. “To be able to hold on at the end and make the plays to win was something this team hasn’t been able to do this year.” The Gamecock defense wasn’t able to hold Kentucky in the clos ing seconds of Saturday’s 51-50 loss, but it kept Arkansas score less after USC senior guard Jamel Bradley scored the game-winning layup with 1:10 left. The Gamecocks (11-5,1-2 SEC) were down by nine points twice in the first half, but a 3-pointer by se nior guard Aaron Lucas put USC in control with 2:25 remaining be fore halftime. USC was up 29-23 at the half V ♦ MEN, SEE PAGE 10 MEN’S BASKETBALL Gamecock Jamel Bradley goes for a layup off a fast break during USC’s close loss to Kentucky on Saturday. Bradley was a key factor in the Gamecocks’ 62-60 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks — their first SEC victory — Wednesday in Fayetteville, Ark. The men take on Vanderbilt at home Saturday, photo by robert gruen After Arkansas win, men take on Vandy Commodores beat Auburn for first conference win BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK Saturday night, the USC men’s basketball team will continue con ference play against Vanderbilt. The Commodores (11-6,1-3 SEC), like USC, have also just picked up their first conference victory after downing Auburn 73-67 on Wednesday. Sophomore Matt Freije scored a career-high 29 points against the Tigers, and Chuck Moore also had a strong outing, with 13 points and seven rebounds. Despite his team’s big win, Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings realizes Frank McGuire Arena is never an easy place to play. “South Carolina had a great game at Arkansas,” Stallings said. “South Carolina has a very tough venue to play in. It gets loud and crazy. “But maybe we are turning the comer of sorts. It’s a lot easier to play Vanderbilt at USC 7:30 p.m., Saturday Carolina Coliseum TV: none when your team has a little confi dence. But it was very good to finally get a conference win.” So far this season, the Commodores have been averaging 79 points per game and shooting 47 percent. Freije leads the team with 17 points per game and 4.6 re bounds. Moore has been pulling in 13 points a game to go with 2.4 as sists. With its win over the Tigers, Vanderbilt snapped a 12-game con ference losing streak. Last year, the Gamecocks swept the season series with the Commodores. Comments on this story? Write gamecocksports@hotmail.com