The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 25, 2002, Page 7, Image 7
7
GAME SCHEDULE
n f \ vrrr A r^HP Ttci MEN'S BASKETBALL at No. 18 Georgia, 7 p.m. Wednesday
UUiN liVvj 1 UO WOMEN’S BASKETBALL at SEC Tournament, Friday
„. .. o _. SOFTBALL at Plant City Tournament, Friday-Saturday
Story ideas Questions Comments. MEN’S TENNIS vs. Mississippi State, 2 p.m. Friday
S-mad us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com „ BASEBALL vs. No. 4 Clemson, 4 p.m. Saturday
USC coasts to win
Ole Miss 58
USC 82
Lady Gamecocks
get second seed
in SEC Tourney
BY COURTNEY KELLER
THE (iAMECCK
In the women’s basketball season
finale, the No. 10 USC Lady
Gamecocks defeated Ole Miss 82-58.
Coming off a loss to Auburn last
Thursday night, Carolina (22-5,10
4 SEC) ended a two-game losing
streak. The win against Ole Miss
(11-16,3-11) also allowed the Lady
Gamecocks to clinch a tie for sec
ond place in the conference with
Vanderbilt as well as the No. 2
seed in the upcoming SEC
Tournament. Carolina also tied its
home record with 15 wins.
“The success of the team is
owed to the players for their hard
work,” USC head coach Susan
Walvius said. “They came out and
made great accomplishments.”
Before the game, Carolina hon
ored its five seniors for their ac
complishments and efforts with a
framed jersey and a bouquet of
flowers. The five seniors included
Ines Ajanovic, Teresa Geter,
Shaunzinski Gortman, Shannon
Segres and Tatyana Troina.
During the first half, the Lady
Gamecocks shot a solid 50 percent,
while the Lady Rebels shot under
29 percent. Carolina was out-re
bounded, however, 23-19. Gortman
led USC with 13 points, nine com
ing from behind the 3-point line.
At the end of the first half,
Carolina was on top 34-27.
To start the second half,
Carolina jumped out early in the
first five minutes and went on a 15
1 run. Ole Miss tried to respond
but fell short to Carolina’s potent
defense. The Lady Gamecocks
scored nine straight points in a
two-minute span and left the Lady
Rebels in the dust. At the 13:18
mark of the second half, Carolina
was up convincingly 55-30.
Carolina continued to play ag
gressive, and with less than five
minutes left in regulation, it led
PHOTO BY ROBERT GRUEN
Shaunzlnski Gortman set the example for the Lady Gamecocks on Sunday against Ole Miss.
Gortman had 24 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. The
Lady Gamecocks terminated their longest losing streak of the season on Senior Day.
by 26 points. The Lady Gamecocks
kept their momentum up to the
buzzer. To put the finishing touch
on the game, Troina hit a 3-pointer
with less than 15 seconds left in
regulation.
The Lady Rebels were silent
from the start of the second half.
After Carolina went on its 15-1 sec
ond-half run, the Rebels could not
seem to get back into their game.
Ole Miss went through many cold
spells where nothing would fall
their way. They shot a little over
26 percent for the game, making 8
of 34 from the field.
USC also capitalized off of Ole
Miss’s mistakes. The Lady
Gamecocks scored 18 fast-break
♦ WOMEN, SEE PAGE 8
NCAA bubble about to burst
LSU players
try to catch
Chuck
Eldson on a
fast break
last
Wednesday.
Eldson was
fouled on the
play and
didn’t score.
In Saturday’s
game against
Auburn, he
scored 10
points, had
four
rebounds and
three steals
In the game.
PHOTO BY ROBERT
GRUEN
USC 46
Auburn 50
Auburn wins
defensive battle
with Gamecocks
BY JASON NOLL
the gamecock
The USC men’s basketball team
lost to the Auburn Tigers 50-46 on
Saturday, further hurting its
chances at making the NCAA
Tournament. The Auburn defense
dominated the game as both teams
struggled to put points on the board.
“It comes back to our defense,
and the fact that our rebounding
was staunch,” Auburn head coach
Cliff Ellis said. “That is also how
you keep teams at bay'-vhen your
offense isn’t playing well.”
The Tigers (12-13, 4-10 SEC)
nearly doubled USC’s rebound to
tal, collecting 49 boards to USC’s
25. Auburn’s tenacious rebound
ing led to many second-chance op
portunities. The Tigers grabbed
16 offensive rebounds, while USC
(16-11,6-8) pulled down only three,
all by center Tony Kitchings.
Auburn’s Kyle Davis also
grabbed three offensive rebounds
and went on to lead all players
with nine total rebounds. Every
player Auburn put on the floor
had at least three rebounds, while
the Gamecocks had only four play
ers with three or more.
“When you don’t rebound the
basketball... and don’t get any
loose balls... and you shoot 28 per
cent like we did, you are likely to
lose the game,” Carolina head
coach Dave Odom said.
Both teams showed lackluster
performances on the offensive end,
as only one player, Auburn’s Adam
Harrington (13 points), scored in
double figures. Chuck Eidson, Jamel
Bradley, and Powell each paced the
Gamecocks with nine points.
“Auburn played very good de
fense today,” Eidson explained.
“They made it very difficult to
pass consistently.
“I feel like we are a better team.
Coach had us ready to come out
and play today, but the shots were
just not falling for us.”
Part of USC’s inability to put
the ball in the basket might have
been due to its shot selection. The
Gamecocks actually attempted
more 3-pointers (30) than any oth
er shot (22).
The Gamecocks made only 26.7
percent of their 3-point attempts,
as Aaron Lucas was 0-for-6 from
behind the arc and Chris Warren
was only l-for-5.
Carolina did manage to force
more turnovers than Auburn, but
it was unable to take advantage of
the extra offensive opportunities.
“We turned the ball over 14 times
to their 25 tunes,” Odom said. “We
are supposed to win those type of
games. But again, you have to give
credit to Auburn for playing hard.”
The Tigers were coming off of
back-to-back losses to SEC oppo
nents Florida and Mississippi
State, while the Gamecocks were
coming off of back-to-back wins
against Vanderbilt and LSU.
“You have to give credit to
Auburn. Coach Ellis did a good job
getting them ready to play after
back-to-back losses,” Odom said.
The Gamecocks have two
games remaining in the regular
season, which means that they’ll
have the chance to finish 8-8 in the
SEC. They will travel on
Wednesday to face the Georgia
Bulldogs, who have lost only twice
at home this year. That game and
Saturday’s home game against
Mississippi State will be very im
portant as the team prepares for
the SEC Tournament.
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Baseball
wins again
Gamecocks
knockoff No. 8
Georgia Tech
BY STEVE SHULER
THE GAMECOCK
The USC baseball team trav
eled to Myrtle Beach this week-,
end for three games at the
Baseball at the Beach
Tournament, and came out with
three victories. The No. 5
Gamecocks remain undefeated
at 9-0 after defeating Virginia
Commonwealth, No. 8 Georgia
Tech and Coastal Carolina.
Friday: USC 5,VCU3
USC catcher Landon Powell
hit a game-winning, three-run
double in the bottom of the
eighth inning to rally Carolina
to a 5-3 victory Friday over
Virginia Commonwealth.
Carolina and VCU traded
blows in the first two innings,
with the Gamecocks striking first
Jon Coutlangus scored on a field
er’s choice in the bottom of the
first. VCU answered with three
runs of its own in the top of the
second. The Rams put their first
four batters on base and made the
most of shortstop Drew Meyer’s
error to go ahead by two runs.
Carolina narrowed the gap to
one run in the same inning, as
third baseman Brian Buscher sin
gled in right fielder Steve Thomas.
Neither team could score in
the next five and a half innings,
until Powell’s game-deciding
double to left-center field.
The Gamecocks stranded
three runners in the bottom of
the eighth, but reliever Tony
Adler needed no more help, sit
ting the Rams down in order to
earn his first win of the season.
Saturday: USC 8,
Georgia Tech 3
In a battle of nationally ranked
unbeaten teams, the Gamecocks
jumped out early and never
looked back, soundly defeating
the eighth-ranked Georgia Tech
Yellow Jackets on Saturday.
Carolina scored three runs in
the first inning and put its first
five batters on base. Carolina
added one more in the second as
Powell and Buscher connected
for back-to-back doubles.
Georgia Tech scored its first
run in the bottom of the second,
as designated hitter Tyler
Parker walked, stole two bases
and scored on a sacrifice fly. But
Carolina scored again in the
third off first baseman Yaron
Peters’ solo home run.
Both teams scored in the sixth,
as USC left fielder Garris Gonce
homered to left center. The Yellow
Jackets countered with two runs,
as Parker connected with an RBI
triple and center fielder Brandon
Boggs singled through the right
side of the infield.
Carolina put the game away
in the top of the ninth, as Meyer
hit a triple and scored on a sin
gle to center field by Harris.
Harris would then later score on
a sacrifice fly by Trey Dyson.
Carolina pitcher David
Marchbanks scattered five hits
over six innings to earn his third
win of the season. Blake Taylor
was credited for the save.
Sunday: USC 11,
Coastal Carolina 2
The Gamecocks left no doubt
of their No. 5 ranking, complet
ing the tournament sweep with
an impressive win over Coastal
Carolina on Sunday.
' The Gamecocks started strong,
as Coutlangus singled to right and
scored on a triple by Meyer. Meyer
later scored on a fielder’s choice.
The Chanticleers scored in
the second but would get no clos
er. USC scored four in the third
inning, powered by Dyson’s
three-run homer. Two more
Gamecocks plated in the fourth,
as Coutlangus scored his second
run of the game and Buscher
scored on a single by Meyer.
Coutlangus scored again on an
error in the sixth.
Coastal Carolina scored once
more in the seventh, but the
Chanticleers would not score
again. Buscher’s two-run triple
in the ninth inning put the ex
clamation point on a dominant
tournament by the Gamecocks.
USC’s Gary Bell earned his
third win of the season, allow
ing only one run on four hits.
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Softball loses
two to Tar Heels
USC keeps first
game close but
falls in the 10th
BY MATT ROTHENBERG
THE GAMECOCK
The North Carolina Tar Heels
opened up their new softball com
plex Saturday with a two-game
sweep at the expense of the 20th
ranked USC Lady Gamecocks.
Despite a strong effort in the
first game, Carolina fell short 9
8 in 10 innings. The Lady
Gamecocks’ bats went silent in
the second game, an 8-1 defeat.
Carolina came out with a bang
in the first game against Lady Tar
Heel starter Shannon Walsh. The
Lady Gamecocks raced to a 5-0
lead in the first inning. Jodi Fittro
scored on an error by Walsh, and
Amber Curtis followed with a
three-run home run. Kristin Hall
crossed home on Melissa Sandel’s
triple, and Walsh, after only 1/3
of an inning, was replaced by
freshman Erica Ennis.
In the second inning of game
one, UNC responded, banging
out six singles to score four
runs. The Tar Heels added two
more runs in the third with a
two-out rally and took a 6-5 lead.
USC starter Stacey Johnson was
removed in favor of Aleca
Johnson, who was credited with
the go-ahead runs.
The Lady Gamecocks came
back to take the lead in the fifth,
as Debralee Troesh singled in
Fittro and Curtis doubled in
Troesh. But Tar Heel senior
Natalie Anter tied up the game
with a solo home run in the sixth.
USC took the lead briefly in
the top of the 10th when pinch
runner Nancy Crane scored on
Fittro’s two-out double. North
Carolina wrapped up the game,
however, in the bottom of the in
ning when Tiffany Tolleson’s
single scored Kelly Ramsey and
Jessica Young singled in Quinn
Porter for the winning run.
Aleca Johnson (1-1) took the loss
for USC, while Curtis went 2-for
3 at the plate with 4 RBIs.
USC’s Meghan Cornett got
her first start of the season in the
second game but received little
help from her teammates. Kim
Evans scored the lone run for
the Lady Gamecocks, crossing
the plate on Troesh’s first-inning
double. After that, Tar Heel
freshmen pitchers Ashley Allen
and Brandi Griffin shut down
USC. Allen hit a two-run double
in the second inning to score all
the runs she would need.
In all, Cornett (0-1) gave up
seven earned runs on 13 hits,
while USC’s batters only man
aged five hits.
The Lady Gamecocks (9-5)
will travel to Plant City, Fla.,
this weekend to take part in the
Plant City Tournament. On
Friday, the Lady Gamecocks
will take on Michigan and Ohio
University.
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