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GAME SCHEDULE Vcta-f 8 MEN’S TENNIS at’ Georgia Tech, 2 p.m. Tuesday , _ , _ BASEBALL vs. Wofford, 7 p.m. Wednesday Monday, February 28, 2005 MEN’S BASKETBALL at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. Wednesday Women’s basketball drops to Ole Miss By ALEX RILEY STAFF WRITER With a two-game SEC winning streak, the Gamecock women’s basketball team (8-20) traveled to the Deep South to take on Ole Miss (18-9) in an attempt to continue building its momentum in the season finale. USC could not overcome numerous adversities to seal the win and fell in Oxford, 57-51. While the Gamecocks’ momentum was building, their depth fell, as the lineup was short two key players in sophomore guards Lauren Simms and Lea Fabbri. Simms fell to a knee injury a few weeks ago, while Fabbri traveled home to Croatia to be with her ill father. The lack of backcourt depth showed, as sophomore starting guard Stacey Booker played all 40 minutes of the game, while her counterpan, sophomore Shannel Harris, played 29 minutes. The two combined for 13 points, as Booker posted a lackluster 2-of-10 from behind the arc. The bulk of the offensive scoring was “I am proud of our team. They played hard. We weren’t perfect, but we are a young team and we showed flashes of brilliance today.” SUSAN WALVIUS use COACH put up in the post, as sophomore Iva Sliskovic and junior Olga Gritsaeva tallied 18 total points but managed to be outrebounded 40-33. As the case has been all season, freshman forward Melanie Johnson played inspired basketball off the bench, leading the team in scoring with 15 points. Carolina relied heavily on defense, as ♦ Please see WOMEN, page 9 Softball takes 3 of 4 in tourney By BRIAN DAVIS THE GAMECOCK In its seventh appearance at the Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., the USC women’s softball team shrugged off any rust at the event, going 3-1 in victories over Southern Illinois, No. 13 Georgia Tech and Massachusetts, while only falling to No. 8 Michigan. The scheduled game for Sunday was cut short because of inclement weather, and the Gamecocks were unable to face West Coast opponent Oregon on Sunday morning. At the end of the weekend, USC stands at 11-7. In the first USC contest, junior pitcher Melanie Henkes advanced her record to 5-2 with a shutout on the day. Freshman outfielder Jessica Josker went 4-for-4 on the day and scored USC’s two lone hits on drives by sophomore McKenna Hughes, who went 2-for-4 in the contest. In the second half of day one, the Gamecocks faced one of their most competitive opponents of the season in No. 8 Michigan. Josker continued her impressive work, going 2-for-4 on the day, but USC was unable to keep up with the streaking Wolverines. The Gamecocks were able to muster two runs after trailing 4-0 early, but Michigan went on another run in the fifth inning by scoring five runs to take a commanding 9-2 lead. USC was unable to respond, scoring only one more run before falling, 9-3. Bouncing back, senior pitcher Aleca Johnson and the rest of the USC team defeated No. 13 Georgia Tech, seemingly playing in ♦ Please see SOFTBALL, page 9 . CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Florida forward Al Horford defends USC center Antoine Tisby in the second half of Florida’s 66-65 victory against the Gamecocks on Suhday. The loss was USC’s second of the season to the Gators. INCHES FROM VICTORY Gamecocks blow 17-point lead in second half By STEPHEN FASTENAU ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR David Lee’s 14th rebound brought an end to the game, but the senior’s fifth offensive rebound on Florida’s last possession won it for the Gators. Lee followed an Anthony Roberson miss, reaching over junior forward Rocky Trice to lay the ball in with 12.6 seconds and give Florida a 66-65 win over USC on Sunday. USC sophomore guard Tre’ Kelley, who finished with 17 points for the game, missed a potential game winning 3-pointer with five seconds remaining. “It was a low turnover, well-played game on both ends of the floor,” USC coach Dave Odom said. “Defense. Offense. A game that' I feel like we should’ve won but we didn’t.” The loss was the Gamecocks’ third in a row following an improbable 73-61 besting of Kentucky on Feb. 15. USC fell to 14-11 on the season, virtually ending any chance of securing an invite to the NCAA Tournament. Carlos Powell led all scorers with 18 points, along with 13 rebounds, and fellow senior Josh Gonner added eight points. Powell got out of the gate quickly to start the game. His layup and subsequent three-pointer gave the Gamecocks an early 5-3 lead. Gonner followed with a jumper and a free throw, and a powerful Antoine Tisby dunk pushed the margin to 10-5 in favor of USC. Aided by a couple of dunks and a Matt Walsh 3 pointer, the Gators put together a quick 10-0 run to lead by what would be their largest margin of the afternoon at 15-10. When Trice tied the game at 15 15 on a deep jumper, Florida would not regain the lead until 2:30 remained in the game. With the game tied at 20-20, the Gamecocks went on a 17-7 run to take a 10-point lead in to halftime. USC remained hot to start the second half, embarking on a 9-2 run that gave the Gamecocks their largest lead of the game at 46-29. Sophomore guard Lee Humphrey ended the run when his 3 point attempt found its mark with 15:55 remaining. The two teams battled back and forth for the next several minutes, as USC was able to maintain a substantial lead. With USC leading 57-45 with 9:42, junior center Tisby picked up a technical foul after taking offense to an official’s foul call and kicking the ball in the direction of his bench. The Gators converted 3-of-4 free throws to bring the lead to less than 10 at 57-48. USC managed just three free throws during the next seven minutes. Gonner made l-of-2 free throws with 2:50 remaining to give his team a 61-59 lead. Junior forward Walsh followed with a 3-pointer from just in front of the Gator bench, putting Florida in front, 62-61. Kelley then nailed a jumper from the left wing to temporarily put USC back on CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Carlos Powell shoots a free throw Sunday. USC converted only 6 of 17 free throws in the game. top but followed with a foul on Walsh. Walsh sank both free throws, giving the Gators a 64 63 lead with 1:06 remaining. Following a timeout, Powell was able to score in the post with :30 left, putting USC up 65-64 and setting up Lee’s winning tip-in. Odom made the decision not to call a timeout, instead waving Kelley up the floor. Kelley had an open look at the top of the arc, but his shot was off the mark. Lee secured the rebound and ran the remaining seconds off the clock. “He was open,” Odom said. “He was deep. It would have been a great story if he could have hit it.” The Gamecocks are left to wonder what might have been after coming so close to knocking off another tough SEC East opponent on their home floor. “I thought we were very, very fortunate to win,” Florida coach Billy Donovan said. “They really took it to us.” Odom said his main focus now is on preparing his team to play a pesky Vanderbilt team Wednesday on the road. USC returns home Sunday to take on Ole Miss in what will be its final test before spring break and the SEC Tournament in Atlanta. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu One-point defeat leaves fans thinking familiar ‘what-if ■ Heartbreaking loss to Gators all but seals Carolina’s at-large fate As the Gamecocks’ one-point lead disappeared on a David Lee tip-in with just about 12 seconds left Sunday, so did USC’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament with an at-large bid. T h e 2004-05 season has gone in such a manner that Carolina f a n s JONATHAN HILLYARD SUX SECOND-YEAR O h - S O - electronic painful JOURNALISM Question STUDENT After a heartbreaking loss to the Gators at home, the Gamecocks look at a 14-11 record. Six of those 11 losses have come by a combined 16 points. Four of those losses came to top-30 teams. The tone for the season was set with a one-point loss to Clemson on Dec. 4. A last second Tiger 3-pointer was all that kept the Gamecocks from starting their season 6-0. A win in that game would make Carolina’s win total 15. Carolina then traveled to take on then No. 2 Kansas, where the Gamecocks started the game on an 11-0 run before falling by just four points to the Jayhawks, costing them what would now be their 16th win and the first of two wins over top-10 teams. Follow that up with deja vu losses at Pittsburgh and Kentucky, both by four points. Assuming the previous games were wins, these two crucial victories would place USC at 18 wins, with four wins over top-20 teams, and a season sweep of Kentucky. As a side note, the Wildcats have just three losses on the season to Kansas and North Carolina, and USC, their only conference loss to this point. With 18 wins and four over the top 20, USC would probably be in the NCAA Tournament. Even with an absolutely embarrassing three-point loss to Auburn at home, the Gamecocks would probably be dancing. Even with slip-ups at LSU, Alabama and Tennessee, 18 wins would probably be enough. Fourteen wins is not. Ugly losses to Auburn and Tennessee will haunt the Gamecocks in their quest for two consecutive NCAA Tournament ♦ Please see HILLYARD, page 9 KATIE KIRKLAND/ THE GAMECOCK USC point guard Tre’ Kelley goes up for a layup surrounded by Florida defenders in the second half Sunday. USC’s offense stalled after leading by 17 early in the second half. Pearce returns to lead USC KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Steve Pearce watches as one of his three weekend home runs sails toward the right-center field wall during Saturday’s game. By MIQUELJACOBS STAFF WRITER Welcome back, Steve Pearce. After he and five other teammates missed the first six games of the year because of suspension, Pearce propelled the No. 5 USC baseball team (9-0) to its third weekend sweep. The victims this time were the Niagara Purple Eagles, who dropped to 0-6. A senior from Lakeland, Fla., Pearce, who opted out of signing with the Boston Red Sox organization after last year’s draft, made up for lost time after returning to the lineup. He finished the weekend hitting 8-for-13, including two grand-slam home runs. Add to that another home run and 10 RBIs, and you have last season’s Triple Crown winner returning to form. “I’m glad to have (Pearce) back,” USC coach Ray Tanner said. “He’s a very good hitter. He proved that last year. He does a great job, and he makes the rest of the team better as well. He’s very competitive, very aggressive, and it can be contagious.” The series opened with senior Aaron ' Rawl taking the mound, the reliable right-hander who won SEC Pitcher of the Week honors in the season opener. Rawl stayed true to form, spreading out two hits during the first five innings as ♦ Please see NIAGARA, page 9*