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NO WINS FOR USC IN EARLY SEC PLAY From staff reports USC fell to another ranked conference opponent Sunday, this time a 67-59 loss to No. 23 Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks (9-7, 0-4) remain winless in the SEC with four losses that include No. 1 Tennessee, No. 3 LSU and the Commodores. Vanderbilt led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but USC clawed back in the second half to tie the game 42-42. It was as close as coach Susan Walvius’ team would come to the lead. The Commodores won despite shooting 38.7 percent from the floor. Ilona Burgrova led the Gamecocks with 15 points and ’guard Lauren Simms, added 10 points. No other USC player finished in double figures. The win was Vanderbilt’s fifth in its last six games. Since reeling off seven consecutive wins beginning with nationally ranked Minnesota, the Gamecocks have dropped their last four. Walvius’ team continues to play solid defense, holding opponents to 33 percent shooting per game, but the Gamecocks have struggled from the free throw line, and average nearly 20 turnovers a game. USC will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sunday to take on the Crimson Tide in search of its first conference win. The chance for a first SEC victory was there for the Gamecocks on Sunday but not for long. Vanderbilt’s Carla Thomas proved to be too much for USC, as she finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Three other Commodore’s finished in double figures, and Vandy turned the ball over eight fewer times than the Gamecocks. “You have opportunities, and you turn the ball over ... we’re better than that,” Walvius told the Associated Press on Sunday. “One thing our team is working to understand is a little more of a sense of urgency, a little more aggressiveness without hurrying.” The loss has the current Gamecocks squad looking more like last season’s team that struggled mightily throughout the year, more than they looked like the team that knocked off the Golden Gophers on Dec. 13. USC then went on to knock off the likes of Western Carolina and Clemson before losing its SEC-opener in a hotly contested matchup with the Volunteers. Juan Bias / THE GAMECOCK USC guard Demetress Adams has her shot contested in Sunday’s 67-59 loss to Vanderbilt. The team is 9-7. FflSTCnOU • COflTIflUGD FROfTI 12 Track Stars. Just try not to cross the boundaries of what might be considered crude or offensive. Once you get the name thing out of the way, you must learn the most important rule of intramural basketball ( although, the same probably goes for dodge ball and others) — the refs are horrible. Yell at them as much as possible. Curse their existence every chance you get during a game, because they deserve it. Here’s the deal. Campus rec brings in a certain number of students each year, trains them a little on how to blow a whistle, sticks some money in their shirt pocket and tells them to officiate games. Most of the time, these guys and girls couldn’t recognize a foul if it kicked them in the crotch. Then, when you protest, they threaten to deduct from your team’s “sportsmanship” grade, which is another brilliant creation of the campus rec department. Each team is graded on how it acts during a game on a 4.0 scale, similar to a GPA. At the end of the season, if a team doesn’t have a passing sportsmanship grade, it supposedly doesn’t make the playoffs. Brilliant. I’m back at the YMCA. While you’re at it, why not make it so every person on your team has to play at least 10 minutes, and we can get pizza and miniature trophies at the end of the season. Better yet, might as well strap on the ol’ eight-foot baskets, too, and don’t forget to turn off the scoreboard when a team gets ahead by 15 points or more. Give me a break. The worst part about it is that officials are allowed * to play. So after blasting a team by the mercy rule one game, you could come back a week later and have your game officiated by members of the team you dismantled the week before. Other than berating the refs, the most important thing to remember in intramurals is to have fun. Make sure you pick a good team, and make sure you win. Don’t go all “Sack” in Wedding Crashers, though. At the end of the day it’s still a game. Your opponents are, after all, fellow students. Some final thoughts: If you lose to a ffiat team, ; you shouldn’t be playing. ; Make the refs cry. Don’t ; feel obligated to use a player that’s inept with a . basketball. It’s not worth the embarrassment to your team or to him. If you see my team on the schedule, forfeit, switch leagues, fake sick, anything. See you on the court. • LOSS • COnTinUCDFROmiB play. Levi Stukes, who led the Bulldogs with 20 points, would miss a 3-pointer but get his own rebound. Following timeouts, Mercer would hit the . game-tying basket with 46 seconds left. USC had a chance for a game-winning shot, but a Kelley turnover into Mercer’s hands would set up the capper to the Georgia comeback. Gaines would kick out to the hot hand, Stukes, who drained the shot as the final second ticked off the clock, giving the Bulldogs the 64-61 win. “It was pretty much a dead even game,” Odom said. “A lot of lead changes, a lot of chances for each team to fold and go away and neither team did. It’s particularly tough for us. We needed the game, it was a home game.” Carolina kept two of the Georgia starting five in check, as Terrance Woodbury and Dave Bliss combined for 4 points on seven shot attempts. USC also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 40-33 thanks in part to a 15-rebound day from Wallace. “We felt like the defense put us in a position to win,” Wallace said. “But at the end we had another letdown. The guy had an open shot ; and made it.” The loss sent Carolina ' to an 0-3 start in the SEC and a 9-7 overall record. All three SEC losses came after USC failed to close the door in the second half. “We fought our hearts out this game,” Kinsey said. .“It went to overtime, we had two chances to win the game, I turned the ball over, and Tre’ turned the ball over. We manned up and stopped them when I turned the ball over. But this time, I guess time was just running out and they hit the big shot.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu The following Learning Communities are now accepting applications. i | Open House Calendar Date Learning Community Time Jan. 18 Carolina's Mentoring Community 6-8p.m. (Capstone 16th Floor) I Jan. 21 West Quad Environmental 10a.m. Awareness Community 1p.m. fl Jan. 24 Carolina's Global Community 5-7p.m. t i (South Quad 1st Floor) Jan. 25 French Language House 7:30 ? (820 Henderson Street) 9p.m. Jan. 27 Preston Residential Tea 4-6p.m. y| * There will be no Open House for Pre-Medical Community. I For more information visit our website at: ftp://www.housing.se.edu/reseomjsp University Housing 1215 Blossom Street 1 Priority Deadline: Feb. 1,2005 iff * iHlim unr .nf. c Greek Programming Board The Greek Programming Board is responsible for planning, coor dinating, and implementing Fraternity & Sorority Council events for the Greek Community. Members are expected to attend weekly board and council meetings. Board members are also encouraged to form committees and to recruit committee mem bers from the Greek Community. The Programming Board will replace the former council cabinet positions. This board is com prised of 11 men and 11 women, and it will delegate many responsibilities to help strengthen Greek Life as a whole. iff 111 I II Mill II 5