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T^l T^| m r^i GAME SCHEDULE PONTAPTTN I_9 m ft I_9 I ' MEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Florida, 7 p.m. Tuesday UO I ■ ■ I \ I . WOMEN’S BASKETBALL vs. Georgia, 7 p.m. Thursday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I B B B B I L 1 WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING at Florida St., Saturday E-mailusatgamecocksports@hotmail.com —I— B B TRACK AND FIELD at the Meet of Champions (NYC), Saturday «*■ USC back on track 0 USC 69 (Q| Florida 59 Lady Gamecocks recoverfrom loss with convincing victory at Florida BY J. KEITH ALLEN THE GAMECOCK The llth-ranked USC women’s basketball team took to the road Sunday to prove that last Sunday’s loss to Arkansas was a mere hic cup over the course of long, suc cessful season. It would have to prove this point against a worthy opponent - the 12th-ranked Florida Lady Gators. Florida had redemption in mind, as it was beaten on Thursday night at the hands of Tennessee, 86-66, but it fell short on Sunday in Gainesville nonetheless, as USC took care of Florida 69-59 for a clutch SEC road win. USC head coach Susan Walvius was pleased with her team’s ef forts. “The fight was there in the sec ond half,” Walvius said. “This was a big game for us, to come here and get a road win. It’s a big win for us; we beat a very good team tonight.” Walvius had to devise a differ ent game plan than usual, as standout forward Teresa Geter missed her second straight game due to a stress fracture in her left foot. Apparently, that plan was to get the ball in the hands of forward Jocelyn Penn early and often. Penn, who was featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated, scored 29 points for the Lady Gamecocks (18-3, 6-2 SEC), including 11 of the team’s first 13 points. Penn added seven rebounds and five steals in the win. The game was tight from the on set, as both teams traded baskets with a spirited, competitive brand of basketball. There were 10 lead changes and four tie scores in the opening half. The Lady Gamecocks took the court for the second half down 31 PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN Jocelyn Penn, pictured here against Kentucky, scored a game-high 29 points In USC's win over No. 12 Florida on Sunday. 29 to the Lady Gators (15-7, 5-4). SEC assist leader Cristina Ciocan nailed two consecutive 3 po inters for USC early in the sec ond half to put the team ahead 35 34. Penn continued to have the hot hand in the second half, and her jumper with seven minutes remaining put USC ahead, 46-45. USC would never trail again in the contest. Penn’s basket trig gered a nine-point run that would put the game out of reach. The run was capped with a Shaun Gortman jump shot with 3:40 remaining that gave USC an 11-point lead, its largest of the af ternoon. Florida refused to concede, however, and guard Brandi McCain continued to attack from behind the 3-point line. She got the Lady Gators within six points with two minutes left on the clock. But Shannon Segres iced the victory for the Lady Gamecocks, sinking four consecutive free throws in the waning minutes of the contest. The clutch baskets put USC ahead by 10 points. McCain finished with 14 points for Florida, and forward Vanessa Hayden added 12 points and 15 rebounds in the defeat. Carolina was especially concerned with Hayden, whom Walvius considered “ the best post player in the SEC.” USC won at The O’Connell Center for only the third time in its history, and for the first time since the 1991-1992 season. The victory keeps them in the thick of the hunt for the SEC title, only one game behind Tennessee. The Lady Gamecocks face an other tough SEC foe at home this week, against Georgia at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com Track teams perform well Men’s and women’s teams place several in. weekend meets BY MATT ROTHENBERG THE GAMECOCK It was a busy weekend for USC’s men’s and women’s track and field teams, ranked No. 15 and No. 1. The Gamecocks hosted the USC Open Invitational, an indoor meet featuring several schools from across the Carolinas and Georgia. Also, Carolina took part in the Tyson Invitational, held at the University of Arkansas. In the USC Open, both the men and women had several top per formances. Kalilah Carpenter and Sheneka Griffin finished first and fourth, respectively, in the women’s 55 meter dash, while Mikisha Lewis and Abby Sox placed the same in the 800 meters. Rachel Smith out paced her opponents and won the mile run with a time of 5 minutes, 37 sprnnris Tn thp wnmpn’s nnlp vault, Rachel Farabee landed in third place, achieving a mark of 3.05 meters. The women’s throwers shared in the success as well, with Keri Groover finishing fourth in the shot put and Aisha Grant, Qualenda Washington and Groover placing 7-8-9 in the weight throw. The men’s team showed that they, too, were up for the chal lenge that awaited them. The sprinters were especially successful, with James Adkisson finishing third in the 55 meters, Trace Wilson placing second in the 400 meters, and Jarred Johnson winning the 600 meters. Mark Howell and David Machemer finished first and third, respectively, in the 800 meters, while Howell also won the 1-mile run. Fred Townsend and Johnson placed first and third in the 55-me ter high hurdle9, and Carolina pre vailed in the 400-meter relay. Lee Fletcher got second place in the pole vault with a mark of 4.26 me ters. Sean Krawiecki, Greg Royster, and Ben Yocum landed in third, fourth and sixth place in the high jump. Chris Vanderbrink finished second in both the shot put and weight throw. Success continued in Arkansas for the Gamecocks. On the women’s side, Aleen Bailey won the 60- and 200-meter dashes, with teammate Erica Whipple placing third in both races. Demetria Washington finished second in the ' 200. In the unseeded 400-meter dash, Lisa Barber ended in second place, with Tiffany Ross fifth. Carolina’s 400-meter relay team won the com petition and four Lady Gamecocks placed in the 60-meter hurdles. Chelsea Hammond finished sec ond in the high jump and twelfth in the long jump, while Antoinette Wilks and Tacita Bass went 2-3 in the long jump. Wilks also placed 12th in the triple jump. In the shot put, India Odum fin ished eighth, and in the weight throw, Mamee Groves came in second. Leshinda Demus, Bass, anH Shaurm RtnHHart want O.'i.A in the seeded 400 meter dash. The men also fared well against their opponents in Arkansas. Three Gamecocks were finalists in the 60-meter dash, with Andre Totton the best at seventh place. Totten also placed fourth in the 200 meters. Gerald Pressley (7th) and Jon Fortenberry (17th) were among finalists in the un seeded 400-meter dash. Corey Taylor finished ninth in the 60-me ter hurdles, while the 400-meter relay team came in third place. Otis Harris placed fourth in the seeded 400-meter dash, and Otukile Lekote came in sixth in the seeded 800 meters. Chris Steddum and Jared Farabee fin ished fourth and eighth, respec tively, in the seeded pole vault. After a successful weekend, the Gamecocks will be in action again on Feb. 9 at the Meet of Champions in New York City. On Feb. 16, USC will hold the Gamecock Indoor Invitational. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Not so close this time S use . 74 % Kentucky 91 Kentucky rolls to easy victory in Rupp rematch BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK This weekend, the USC men’s basketball team failed to avenge its Jan. 12 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, suffering a 91-74 defeat Saturday at Rupp Arena in Lexington. The defeat marks Carolina’s 12th straight loss to Kentucky (15 5,5-3 SEC). The Gamecocks (13-8, 3-5) have not beaten the Wildcats since 1997. USC head coach Dave Odom credited the Wildcats’ entire team for the victory. “Certainly we were beaten by an excellent Kentucky team,” Odom said. “They did whatever they wanted to do to whomever they wanted to do it to offensive ly. Our team was not prepared de fensively. It was definitely a Kentucky say, and I want to give Tubby (Smith) and his team cred it.” Chuck Eidson led the Gamecocks in their fight to stop Kentucky, scoring 25 points. Eidson also shot 60 percent from downtown, made seven assists and grabbed five rebounds. Jamel Bradley also scored 14 points for USC. Gerald Fitch matched his ca reer-high of 17 points for the Wildcats. He led Kentucky with nine rebounds as well. Tayshaun Prince added 16 points and Cliff Hawkins contributed 15 more. Despite a close contest in the early first half, the Gamecocks be gan to fall behind after a series of Fitch 3-pointers put the Wildcats ahead 26-19 with 9:20 remaining in the half. Hawkins, not typically known for his 3-point shooting also connected from beyond the arc. Bradley and Eidson answered by sinking some 3-pointers for USC, however, the Gamecocks made some careless turnovers along the way, making it easy for Kentucky to assume the lead. The combination of Fitch and Hawkins’ downtown shooting es tablished Kentucky’s domination of the scoreboard. The Wildcats shot 63 percent for the first half and led 46-31 at halftime. Shot clock problems delayed the game for a short period of time in both periods, and in the second half, USC returned to cut the Kentucky lead to 52-45 with 14:35 remaining. It cut the deficit to sev en points in the second half. However, a Fitch layup, fol lowed by a Jules Camara 3-point er, got the crowd roaring again. Kentucky went op an 11-1 run and soared to a 63-46 lead. Bradley felt the influence of the crowd at Rupp Arena. “They would hit a shot and the whole place would just get loud,” Bradley said. “They kept making runs on us, and we just couldn’t come back.” Keith Bogans launched the 3 point shot that put the Wildcats ahead 68-48 at the nine-minute mark. Only three minutes earlier, the shot was Bogans’ first field goal of the afternoon. Rashaad Carruth knocked “Our team was not prepared defensively. It was definitely a Kentucky say, and I want to give Tubby • (Smith) and his team credit.” DAVE ODOM use MEN'S BASKETBALL HEAD COACH down a three-pointer that took UK to a 73-51 lead, and shortly after, Kentucky emptied its bench as it led the Gamecocks by more than 20 in the final minutes. The Wildcats made 11 of 22 3 point shots. They easily topped the Gamecocks by shooting 58 percent from the field, while USC averaged 44 percent. Kentucky controlled the boards as well, outrebounding Carolina 38-27. The Gamecocks also committed 18 turnovers. The last meeting of these teams was a much closer competition that resulted in a 51-50 Wildcat vic tory. This defeat is Carolina’s fifth loss in its last eight games. Odom lauded Kentucky’s ef forts. “UK has a lot of great players and go-to guys,” he said. “Plus, when they go on a 10-0 run, it makes it real difficult to come back. It’s hard to fight back when everything is going against you.” The Gamecocks will return to the Coliseum on Tuesday, when they face No. 5 Florida in another crucial SEC matchup. That game will be televised on ESPN2 and is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksfiorts@hotmail.com TIDE PAYS THE PRICE NCAA hands down sanctions on Alabama Football team penalized for violations BY EVAN WOODBERY THE CRIMSON WHITE TUSCALOOSA, ALA. (U< WIRE) — University of Alabama officials vowed to ap peal some of the harshest sanctions handed down against an athletic program in recent history. The NCAA Committee on Infractions ordered Alabama to cut 21 football scholarships over the next three years and slapped the school with a two year ban on postseason play. In a Friday afternoon tele conference, committee chair man Thomas Yeager said the committee nearly gave Alabama the “death penalty” — the elimination of the foot ball program. “They were staring down the barrel of the gun,” Yeager said. Only a zealous effort by the university’s administration and compliance officials saved Alabama from that measure, Yeager said. He said it was the closest the committee had come to eliminating a pro gram since Southern Methodist University was giv en the death penalty in 1987. University President Andrew Sorensen' immedi Dennis Franchione will be shackled In recruiting after the NCAA imposed heavy sanctions on the Alabama football program. The NCAA punished the Crimson Tide for four major violations. The Tide was handed a two-year bowl ban and had scholarships taken away. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK ately promised to appeal the rul ing, a process that could take six months. “We regret that we must pro long this process, but the decision that we have been given today is simply unacceptable,” Sorensen said. The university had already im posed a 15-scholarship cut over the next three seasons, but they had not imposed a bowl ban. The NCAA’s penalty was significantly more than university officials an ticipated. Yeager said the university’s status as a repeat offender caused the harsher sanctions. This was Alabama’s third run-in with the NCAA in the last six years. In the current case, the NCAA rejected Alabama’s arguments and essentially found the University “guilty” of four major violations. ♦ The committee found that improper recruiting methods were used to entice'Alabama prep star Kenny Smith. Smith was giv en cash by boosters in an effort to get him to play football at Alabama. Smith never enrolled. ♦ The committee found that dissociated Tide booster Logan ♦ ALABAMA, SEE PAGE 8