Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

USC loses 3 student-athletes By MIQUELJACOBS THE GAMECOCK The USC athletics department lost three student-athletes in the past week as women’s basketball player Sarah Burgess and volleyball players Katelyn Panzau and Caitlin Withers will not be returning to their respective teams. The basketball season has just begun while the volleyball team recently completed its season. Burgess, one of two juniors on a basketball team without any seniors, decided to transfer to a school closer to Brook Park, Ohio, her hometown. Her scholarship release has been approved by head coach Susan Walvius, effective Nov. 22. “This is the hardest decision I have made in my life so far, having to leave my family here, especially my teammates,” Burgess said. “I have enjoyed playing with them and they will always be on my mind. I’ve decided to pursue my academic and athletic interests at a school closer to home in Ohio. I wish USC all the best.” Playing mostly a reserve role in her first two seasons, Burgess was expected to be a key contributor to this year’s team in terms of production and leadership. Olga Gritsaeva remains as the only junior on a team with two freshmen and eight sophomores. Walvius will look to captain Lauren Simms and Lakesha Tolliver to fill the leadership void left by her departure. “We’re still looking for that vocal leader to step up. Kesha may be that person for us,” Walvius said. “She is a leader and one of the more vocal on the team. She is a smart young woman and will be a great player for us.” On the volleyball court, head coach Kim Hudson dismissed the players after they, along with three other teammates, were suspended for the SEC Tournament following a violation of team policies. However, Hudson affirmed that the dismissals are unrelated in nature to the suspensions. “Our team is stronger because the people that are here, they understand what our mission is,” Hudson said. “They understand there are consequences when they don’t abide by the policies I have in place.” With the season over following Sunday’s match against North Carolina, Panzau and Withers will be able to seek a transfer to another school. Panzau, a sophomore native of Illinois, is eyeing the Midwest as a possible destination while Withers, a freshman reserve from California, has not yet made plans. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu Volleyball ends season with loss to Tar Heels By MATTHEW NAGY THE GAMECOCK A loss to North Carolina this Saturday marked the end of the 2004 season for the USC volleyball team. South Carolina lost to the Tar Heels in four sets (1-3) and ends the season with a 12-15 record (5-11 SEC). “First of all, I would like to thank those who have supported us throughout the season. It has been a tough year and I appreciate everyone’s support,” head coach Kim Hudson said. The Gamecocks were able to take the first set of the match 31-29 after being down 15-9 early. It was a back-and-forth match as the score was eventually tied at 29 apiece. After a UNC timeout, USC was able to score two straight points and win game one. However, USC was not able to win another match and lost three straight games that came down to the wire. “(The game) probably sums up our year in that we had some bright spots but we continued to have trouble putting it all together at once,” Hudson said. The Gamecocks lost game two 33-35 during a match when the teams were never more then four points apart during the entire match. The next two games were not as close as the first, as North Carolina changed its formation and was able to pull away 30 21 and 30-15 in the final two games of the match. In game four the Gamecocks hit their worst, .025 percent and only had nine kills while also making eight unforced errors in the game. The Tar Heels went on a 10-0 tun early in the match to take the lead up to 16-5 and UNC never looked back, winning 30-15. The loss is the fourth straight for Carolina and it also marks the second consecutive losing season under Hudson, the SEC Coach of the Year in 1997. One of the bright spots throughout the year has been the play of Shonda Cole, who recorded a career high in kills during the match with 24. In the loss she also recorded her 23rd double-digit kill match in 27 games this season. She also had het fourth double-double of the season, as she gained a career high 14 digs against the Tar Heels. Cole finished with 379 kills this year, the most for any Carolina player since 1997 when Heather Larkin achieved a mark of 380 kills. After an early exit in the SEC tournament the Gamecocks will not be looking at an NCAA Tournament berth, and will look to next season to improve upon this years form. USC lost to Florida in the SEC tournament on straight sets on Nov. 19. Comments an this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu ■ MEN Continued from page 11 Rebounding looked to be a key issue for the game, as the Owls had the Gamecocks in size all the way around. Every member of Temple’s starting five, except one stood over 6 feet, 4 inches. The Gamecocks struck early and hard, as Kinsey canned a three to give USC the big lead early. Temple went cold from the floor early, going almost three minutes without a basket. Carolina on the other hand ran the floor, going on a 20-7 run to start the game. The Owls managed to pull the game to within eight with 5:00 left on the clock, but USC widened its lead before the break to a stunning 34-22. Powell was putting in another huge performance, tallying 16 points and seven boards in the first half. USC continued to widen its lead behind solid shooting from Tarence Kinsey, who nailed a three to put Carolina up 41-26 early in the second period. The Owls pulled to within eight with under 7:00 left to play before Stephen McDowell nailed the • first three of his rookie season to put USC up 11. The Owls tried to foul players to get the ball back, but it was of no consequence as USC cruised to the win. “Absolute quality win,” Odom said. “I can’t say enough about our team when they give their all. It was a good win. I think it’s a confidence builder.” Powell'finished with a season-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, the fifth double-double of his career. USC as a whole out-rebounded a much bigger Temple squad 52-23. “The key stat for the whole game was the rebounding total,” Odom said. “How’d they do that when they’re so big? When you force their offense to the perimeter they take long shots. Long shots equals long rebounds.” The win puts USC at 3-0 on the season with the remaining three games of a six game homestand still ahead. The Gamecocks host Appalachian State on Wednesday and then host rival Clemson on Saturday. Comments on this story? E-mail ga7necocksports@gumi.sc. edu If you have any questions or comments about the Sports section, please e-mail Sports editor Jonathan Hillyard at gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu. - ^ Women’s hoops earns first victory ■ Balance crucial in Gamecocks win over Jacksonville BY MIQUELJACOBS THE GAMECOCK In her first seven seasons at the helm of the USC women’s basketball team, head coach Susan Walvius amassed a 7-1 record in home openers. That record increased by one Saturday night as a balanced Gamecock team defeated Jacksonville 79-54. The win was Carolina’s first of the season and comes on the heels of the transfer decision by junior Sarah Burgess. Returning to a tall lineup, Carolina benefited early against the outsized Dolphins, grabbing rebounds for put-backs to take an early 15-2 lead. The size coupled with a dominating full-court press lead to an inability for the Dolphins to penetrate the lane in the first half, causing them to continuously use the entire shot clock before throwing up a shot. In the possessions when the Dolphins were able to get in the lane, the Gamecocks countered with a season-high 10 blocks, the highest team total since the 2002 season. The turnovers and fast-break opportunities allowed the Gamecocks to cruise to a 49-24 halftime lead, led by Lakesha Tolliver’s eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks. “I just wanted to get the opportunity to play. It felt great to be back out there,” Tolliver said. She missed all of last season after tearing her ACL after the season-opening game at Clemson. "Tm back 100 percent. I’m well capable of playing like that and I just want to help out my teammates.” “That was probably the best first half I had seen our team play in a long time,” Walvius said. “We got back to our running game and it was nice to get a lot of uncontested looks. I was pleased with our overall effort.” The second half saw a more balanced pace as the Gamecocks were able to comfortably increase the lead to 64-34 on the balanced offensive and defensive attack of Ilona Burgrova and Melanie Johnson, who posted team highs with four blocks and three steals in — her home debut. 9 Burgrova, the lone incoming freshman, scored her first double digit outing in a game where all of Carolina’s players scored, led by Stacy Booker’s 11 points. “We had balanced scoring and balanced minutes, and that’s always good,” Walvius said. “I know they are capable of that. We’ve got a lot of promise, a lot of talent out there. Tonight was the opportunity for people to show what they could do and I was pleased.” The abundance of young talent proved to be beneficial as Lea Fabbri left in the middle of the second half with a high ankle sprain. The balanced minutes allowed Carolina to react positively as Angela Hunter produced key minutes and scored the final five points of the A game for USC (1-2). “It was real good and balanced scoring,” guard Lauren Simms said. “Everyone contributed and that’s the way you got to play game in and game out. If you are open you have to take the shot and hopefully knock it down.” To go along with the balanced offensive attack was a dominating presence on the boards as USC was on the upper end of a 52-35 rebounding margin. Walvius hopes that the hustle at the glass keeps up throughout the season as the Gamecocks hope to exploit opponents with its abundance of height with eight of 11 players listed above 6 feet tall. “I like our size. It will be something hard for teams to match up with," Walvius said. “I look for us to do well rebounding. Great rebounding teams win games.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ * No matter where you purchased your textbooks, ^ * for the most cash back bring them to *. $ The South Carolina Bookstore Comer of Greene & Main St. $ Register to WIN your Spring 2005 textbooks $ AND $ Reserve your spring textbooks for free. in store Form or online @ www.scbookstore.com $ $ corner of Sreene & Wlain Carolina's Spirit Shop Comer of Main & Devine (Next door to Stuffy's) Stock up for Christmas! During exams get 20% off (With this ad) on all Gamecock nothing and Gifts at SC Bookstore or Carolina's Spirit Shop Sale does not include artwork, frames, and tents. $ The place where students have been $ getting the best deals for over 40 years $ www.scbookstore.com $ 803-799-7406 $ $ $ $•$ $$$$$$$$$ $ $ §fe $ $ e Wi? $ SJ ffi* $ , f r $ $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$