The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 07, 2005, Page 11, Image 11
USC drops heartbreaker
at home against Auburn
By ALEX RILEY
STAFF WRITER
The USC women’s basketball squad’s
straggle with futility continued Sunday
afternoon, as the Gamecocks fell to the
Auburn Tigers at the Colonial Center,
56-47.
Carolina was already short-handed
before the opening tip, as starting guard
Lea Fabbri had traveled home to Croatia
to see her ill father. With the absence of
Fabbri, guards Angela Hunter, Lauren
Simms and Stacy Booker all looked to be
the leader of the team.
Things did not start well for the
Gamecocks, who managed to have only
one first-half lead on a Simms runner off
the glass in the lane at 19-18. Only four
Gamecocks of the nine who played
scored in the first half.
The second half started slow for the
Gamecocks, as they found themselves
down by seven at 30-23 early in the half.
That’s when the offense went into
overdrive, starting with an Ilona
Burgrova fastbreak layup to begin an 8-0
run that would give USC a 31-30 lead
with 13:29 left in the second half.
An Auburn layup stopped the run
and gave the Tigers a brief 32-31 lead.
The Gamecocks ran again, starting with
a Booker breakaway layup off a Hunter
assist. A steal and run out by Melanie
Johnson gave USC its largest lead at
three, but the run was just beginning.
Carolina went up by eight with less than
seven minutes left on another Johnson
fast break.
That lead quickly dwindled, as
Auburn canned a 3-pointer, then hit a
free throw and layup to pull within two
at 41-39. Carolina’s lead grew back to
five as Iva Sliskovic hit a free throw and
layup to give the Gamecocks their final
lead of more than two at 44-39.
Another Tiger 3-pointer started the
run that would seal the deal for Auburn,
as the Gamecocks went cold from the
field, managing to tie the game only
twice starting at the 3:17 mark.
Auburn closed the game out at the
free-throw line, hitting its final six free
NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK
Freshman center Ilona Burgrova is defended by an Auburn player
in the Gamecocks’ most recent loss. USC is winless in SEC play.
throws, to take a lead that was 50-47
with 26 seconds left and push it to the
final score of 56-47.
No Carolina players hit double digits,
while four hit the nine-point mark,
including Hunter who hit three 3
pointers in the first half but failed to score
the rest of the game. The Gamecocks also
failed to use a bit of a height advantage, as
they were handled on the boards, 47-31.
“For that not to be there today was
disappointing,” USC coach Susan Walvius
said of her team’s lack of inside presence.
Walvius seemed to be speechless as to
why her team continues to fail to close a
game.
“Our team’s got to learn how to win
a game,” Walvius said. “That’s what it
comes down to. We saw a lot of people
attempt to be a hero today. You saw it
towards the end of the game. Young
players tend to drop their heads.”
The schedule does not get easier for
USC, who plays host to No. 1 LSU on
Sunday.
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Gamecocks finish second
in season-opening tourney
By MICHAEL FINNEGAN
THE GAMECOCK
When people think of a nationally
ranked team playing on a diamond, they
think USC baseball, right?
This weekend marked the beginning
of the season for the other ranked team
playing on a diamond, the No. 24
Carolina softball team. USC played host
to the Gamecock Invitational and
finished second to Coastal Carolina in a
rematch of an earlier game.
The Gamecocks opened their season
Saturday against Stephen F. Austin in
their first game with an impressive
shutout, 6-0. USC earned its ninth
consecutive home opener shutout.
Junior Melanie Henkes led USC on the
mound, throwing a two-hit shutout. It
was her seventh career shutout but her
first since her freshmen year.
The Gamecocks were led by a veteran
and a freshman at the plate. Senior
Meghan Cornea went 4-for-4 with a
double and two runs. Freshman Lisa
Longo went l-for-3 with a double and
drove in a game-high three RBIs.
In the second game of the day, USC
continued its strong hitting and solid
pitching to coast by Coastal Carolina,
8-2. USC struck first again in the
bottom of the first to give freshman
pitcher Jessica Barnes a 3-0 cushion.
Carolina’s only potential stumbling
block came in the bottom of the fifth
with Carolina up 4-1. With the
potential tying run at the plate, senior
Aleca Johnson relieved Barnes. Johnson
got Coastal’s Meagen Johnson to fly
out into a double play. Coastal
managed to get only one run across the
plate, and the Chanticleers would get
no more the rest of the game. Johnson
finished out the rest of the game to pick
up her first save of the year.
USC played UNC-Greensboro on
Sunday in its last game of round-robin
play. Again. Carolina was lead by
dominant pitching. Henkes threw her
second shutout in as many games, as
USC cruised to an 8-0 victory. At the
plate, USC was led by sophomore
McKenna Hughes, who had a base
clearing double in top of the sixth to seal
the victory. She finished the game with 4
RjBIs. By winning this game, USC
advanced to the championship game of
the Gamecock Invitational against
Coastal Carolina.
In the championship game, Coastal
jumped out early on the Gamecocks
and never relinquished the lead.
Coastal scored three runs in the top of
the second inning against freshman
Kate Pouliot, who was making her first
collegiate start. Pouliot was replaced by
Barnes in the top of the second. Barnes
walked her first batter, but then got the
next two batters out.
Junior pitcher Brittany Nelson, who
only gave up three hits in five innings,
led Coastal. Carolina’s bright spot at the
plate came from freshman, Jessica
Josker, who went 2-for-3.
Carolina’s next game is a doubleheader
against Charlotte on Tuesday at Beckham
Field. The first game is at 3 p.m. with the
second one to follow at 5 p.m. Carolina
travels to Arizona this weekend for the
ASU Tournament.
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MAY 2005 GRADUATES
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ANNOUNCEMENTS MT
GRAD FAIR DATES:
TUES, FEB 8,12-6
WED, FEB 9,12-6
THURS, FEB 11,12-6
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Troy Williamson plays with a football at the College Football All-Star Challenge in Miami last Monday.
Fie was invited to the event at the last minute after Maurice Clarett withdrew.
Williamson shines
in all-star challenge
By ALEX RILEY
STAFF WRITER
Former Gamecock standout Troy
Williamson out-performed some of the
nation’s most highly touted wide
receivers in the 2005 NFL Draft at the
Capital One College Football All-Star
Challenge in Miami, Fla.
Williamson participated ' in two
events in the challenge, the first being
the Marines’ Speed Competition. The
competition features an obstacle course
filled with tackling dummies, rope
courses and a leaping pad at the end.
Williamson beat out Oklahoma’s
Michael Clayton, Auburn’s Carnell
“Cadillac” Williams and Michigan’s
Braylon Edwards to take the event with
21.93 seconds.
Williamson’s other competition was
another obstacle course, this time
featuring not only a speed-based
challenge, but five passes coming from
New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron
Brooks. Williamson caught all five
passes and completed the course in the
quickest time to win again.
Williamson is expected to be one of
the biggest pickups for any team in this
year’s draft with his size and'speed. The
junior declared early for the NFL after
leading in the SEC in receiving yards
this season.
Track teams finish
second in New York
The USC men’s and women’s track
teams finished runner-up in the New
Balance Collegiate Invitational in New
York City on Friday and Saturday.
LSU won the women’s
competition, finishing just a point
ahead of the Gamecocks. Arkansas
finished first on the men’s side. LSU
finished second and Georgia third.
Freshman Natasha Hastings led the
women’s team. Hastings, a New York
native, had personal bests in the 400
meter both days, concluding with 52.64
seconds Saturday to finish second. She
also ran the third leg of the 4-by-400
meter relay that finished second to LSU.
Erica Whipple took first place in the
200-meter with 23.59. Precious Akins
landed in fifth in the shot put with
14.88. In the 5,000-meter, Karen
Wigal finished in 17 minutes, 50.61
seconds to take ninth.
Senior captain Rodney Martin
finished second in the men’s 200
meter. Martin was out-paced by LSU’s
Xavier Carter, who broke the event’s
record with 20.67. Martin had
previously held the record with a time
of20.80.
In the triple jump, Derick Pressley
won the event with an indoor personal
best with a distance of 14.85 meters.
The men’s 4-by-400-meters relay team
finished second with 3:08.76.
Both teams will head to Arkansas
next week to compete in the Arkansas
Tyson Invite.
■ CAMPUS
Continued from page 10
nothing to do with the game itself. She
merely needed to watch it for future
pop-culture references and to avoid
being embarrassed for lack of
knowledge.
“I don’t even know who’s
playing,” Kimbrell said. “I’m just
watching for the outcome. The only
reason I’m watching is so tomorrow
when everyone’s talking about it, I
can say like ‘Yeah, what about that
game!'”
Viewers were encouraged to stay
tuned after the game for a special
episode of “The Simpsons” followed by
the premiere of new comedy
“American Dad.”
Many people decided to use other
football and party-related situations
following the game to keep the mood.
“After the game, I’m going to watch
‘The Simpsons,'” Jones said. “But after
that, I’ve got to hit up that ‘Madden
2005.' I’m using the Packers and going
to show anybody that plays me who the
real champ is.”
Wishful thinking for a wishful fan,
Jones lost the video game to Gilbert. At
least there is always next year.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
■ GREEN
Continued from page 10
Dallas Desperados, San Jose Sabercats
and New Orleans Voodoo, are but a
few examples.
Arena ball is hard-hitting, fast
paced, pass-happy and high-scoring. It
Is football for fans with ADD. There
are only eight players on the field for
each team, and all but two play both
offense and defense. Games are
televised regionally on Fridays and
Saturdays and nationally on NBC
Sundays.
Recruiting has long been
considered a sport to the college
football-crazy South. Fans can get
another fix in March and April when
spring football practice rolls around.
In the past couple years, FSN has been
televising several SEC teams’ spring
games.
Warmer weather, a football coach
named Steve Spurrier and a few
scrimmages to watch in Williams-Brice
Stadium promise to bring many of us
out of our post-Super Bowl funk. This
year’s spring game will be free, and it is
expected that there will be record
crowds out to see what the 2005
version of Gamecock football will look
like.
NFL Europe starts its 13th season
in April. Many former SEC stars,
hoping to make it in the NFL, are sent
to NFL Europe to fine-tune their skills
before training camp begins.
There is something kind of ironic
about exporting football to Europe,
where they have this crazy notion of
calling soccer football. Maybe NFL
Europe will finally catch hold learn the
error of its ways.
Maybe the French will finally start
being polite.
That might be too much to ask for.
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