The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 27, 2006, Page 10, Image 10
Game schedule
TH^AMEGOGK
_ _ _ Men s tennis @ Wake Forest, 2 p.m.
—■ V / *V t r | 'l Softball vs. Campbell, 4 p.m.
ill# \ P f I | 1 Men’s basketball vs. LSU, 7 p.m.
Page 10 JL — L. J— Monday, Feb. 27,2006
USC’s Tarence Kinsey tries
to pass the ball against a
Vanderbilt player'during
Saturday’s 57-56 loss. '
Katy Blalock! THE GAMECOCK
Deja vu disaster:
USC loses by 1
Vanderbilt victorious after Kinsey misses buzzer-beater
IDichael Aguilar
THE GAMECOCK
After what was possibly the
least impressive performance
by the Gamecocks all
season against the Georgia
Bulldogs, USC coach Dave
Odom had a long road
ahead of him to prepare the
team for a tough Vanderbilt
squad.
“I thought our team did
a remarkable job of turning
around,” Odom said, “after
such a disappointing game,
disappointing performance,
disappointing loss on
Thursday nieht.”
Unfortunately, the
turnaround wasn’t enough to
hold down the Commodores
as the Gamecocks fell, 57
56 on Saturday.
Vanderbilt rallied from a
nine-point deficit and held
a one-point lead before a
turnover gave Carolina a
last-second chance to win
the game.
Senior guard Tarence
Kinsey took the last shot
for the Gamecocks, in
a situation that nearly
mirrored the set up that
USC faced in the final
moments of the Georgia
game. Kinsey passed in
bounds on Carolina’s
baseline and the ball was
quickly returned to him.
He had an open look in the
corner but the shot soared
over the hoop.
“It was a good look. I
just rushed it,” Kinsey said.
“I wish I could take that
shot again, hopefully with
a better outcome. You make
some, you miss some.”
iLven tnougn ivinsey
missed the final shot and
had a poor shooting day
overall, he set a milestone
by becoming the 38 th player
ever to score 1000 points
in a Carolina uniform. He
also led the Gamecocks in
rebounds with seven.
The game included hot
streaks and cold spots for
both teams. The first half
was coming to a close and
Carolina was holding on
to a 12-point lead before
Vanderbilt went on a 17-4
run and took the lead.
Nonetheless, USC guard
Tre’ Kelley hit a buzzer
beating lay-up to give the
Gamecocks a one-point
halftime lead. Kelley
contributed by leading the
Gamecocks in points (13)
and assists (5).
The recurring theme
in the last three losses for
Carolina has been poor 3
point shooting. This did not
change against Vanderbilt as
USC shot 21 percent from
behind the arc.
In a similar vein, just like
the Kentucky game, it was a
guard on the other team who
got hot at the right time and
buried the Gamecocks from
the 3-point range.
Junior Commodore
guard Dan Cage hit his
stroke when he needed to
and nailed three 3-pointers
in the waning minutes of
the game to help bring
Vanderbilt back from a
nine-point deficit.
The loss to Vanderbilt
further hurts the already
thin-as-paper-chances the
Gamecocks have for making
the NCAA tournament, but
the team is keeping its chin
up and preparing for LSU
on Tuesday.
“We’re looking LSU
coming in here on Tuesday
night,” Odom said. “That’s
another quick turnaround.”
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- . .—i-t-t a/, gw. a .. -
Commodores
vanquish women
by 17 on road
Gamecocks cant
overcome deficit
after first half
Hlehsey Dubrovenshy
VANDERBILT HUSTLER
Senior Day was a festiv,e
event for Vanderbilt, as it
defeated USC 88-71.
The team’s two seniors
both played key roles
in their final games in
Memorial Gymnasium.
Nicole Jules had 15 points
to lead the team in scoring,
and Erica Grimaldi, a
seldom-used team captain,
knocked down two late free
throw attempts to seal the
game.
“It was awesome to be
able to go in there and
have the fans behind you.
This was a great experience
for me, especially since
my parents were here,”
Grimaldi, a reserve point
guard, said. “You want to
get out there and play, and
it was really fun for me.”
/T-'i C' .1 i r i
X lie 111 oL lldll Utgdll
a back-and-forth affair,
as neither team could get
into a steady rhythm. The
Commodores, however, put
together a run at the end of
the half, as Liz Sherwood
hit a lay-up, Jules knocked
down three free throws,
and Caroline Williams, ■
scoreless to that point, hit a
3-pointer to extend the lead
to 30-17 with four minutes
left until halftime. The
Commodores took a 38-24
lead into the locker room
after Rachel Brockman hit
John Russell Associated Press
USC’s Lauren Simms battles with Vanderbilt's Jennifer
Risper and Liz Sherwood for a loose ball Sunday.
i last-second lay-up.
The Gamecocks slowly
:limbed back into the game
n the second half, as they
ased their size advantage
:o get several second
:hance opportunities. A
ay-up by USC forward
Melanie Johnson cut the
lead to eight at 55-47 with
11:51 left in the half, but
the Commodores quickly
responded with another
3-pointer by Williams
women • ii
Barnes strikes out 15 in win against Eagles
Tom Benning
THE GAMECOCK
USC pitcher Jessica
Barnes was simply in the
zone Sunday.
“Everything felt really
smooth,” she said. “I’ve
just been improving as the
season has gone along. I’ve
had these types of games,
but not in a while.”
The redshirt freshman
struck out a career-high
15 batters on her way to
leading the USC softball
team to a 7-0 victory over
Georgia Southern. Barnes,
who had shoulder surgery
last season, only gave up
two hits and two walks, and
at one point, struck out six
straight batters. The public
relations crew for USC
softball even ran out of
strikeout t-shirts to give out
to fans.
“This was by far the
best game she’s thrown
since her surgery,” said
USC head coach Joyce
Compton. “Hopefully, she’ll
be able to build on this
and get performance after
performance.”
The^win pushed Carolina
to 2-1 for the weekend
(10-5 overall) and earned
them second place in the
Gamecock Invitational. The
tournament was originally
scheduled to include both
round-robin and bracket
play, but weather caused the
latter part to be cut out.
“I was disappointed we
didn’t go 3-0,” Compton
said. “But I think we just
need a few games like today
to get ourselves on the right
track. Today, I thought
the kids did a good job
of staying focused for the
entire day
Against Georgia Southern,
the Gamecocks jumped out
to an early lead in the first
inning when Ashton Payne
scored from third on a wild
pitch. Payne had a big game
for USC, going 2-for-3 with
two runs, three RBIs, and a
stolen base.
GSU pitcher Melissa
Laliberte held Carolina in
check until the sixth inning,
when the Gamecocks
exploded for five runs.
After Lisa Longo reached
first on an error, Laliberte
SOFTBALL • II *
Olympics provide nothing more
than disappointment in 2006
Underachieving athletes,
excessive media attention
make games a real letdown
By the time you read this,
Lindsey Jacobellis will be
waiting tables
at Denny’s,
Apolo Anton
Ohno will be
just another
guy with a _
funny name, JHKCBROOm
and Bode Third-year
Miller will political
be giving his science
acceptance student
speech for the
Ryan Leaf Underachieving
Embarrassment of the Year
Award. The 2006 Winter
Olympics will be over,
and sports like curling and
bobsledding won’t be heard
from again for another four
years.
I he Olympics used to
matter to me when I was
young, but the older I get,
the less I care. Every two
years there is a new group
of athletes that are plastered
all over my television. They
are the youngest, the best,
the most attractive, and
sure to bring all kinds of
glory and respect back
home to their native United
States. And then the actual
competition begins and
people start dropping like
Ralphie May at Dance
Marathon. Very few of our
pre-Olympic idols become
post-Olympic heroes — and
it seems like we never learn
our lesson.
Even those who do
succeed, like speed skater
Shani Davis, find some way
to make us forget why we
liked them in the first place.
Davis should have been
remembered as not only a
great speed skater, butjis the
first African-American to
win an individual Olympic
gold medal in the Winter
Games. Instead, he will be
remembered (at least in the
short term) as the speed
skater guy who started a
feud with some other speed
skater guy. I don’t even
know why they were mad at
each other; I just know that
two American men were
bickering back and forth
like third-graders instead
of celebrating a historic
accomplishment.
/~v i •
WLIlClb J Lib l gci UUi
collective hopes up and
then fall on their faces all
together. Take for instance,
Michelle Kwan, who is
quickly turning into the
Dan Marino of figure
skating. It seems like she
gets a lot of publicity for
not winning anything (okay,
the first person that makes a
Peyton Manning joke here
is getting choke-slammed
off of my balcony). This
year she made a big deal
and whined her way into the
Olympics, then summarily
dropped out after a few
days. I am not sure what
makes Kwan think that even
though she couldn’t win
while she was healthy, she
would win while she was
injured. I’m sure the girl
that had to come on short
notice really appreciated the
wasted time.
We have a habit or creating
a monster and setting it
up for disappointment.
There was Dan O’Brien
and Dave Johnson, the two
decathletes in 1992. Reebok
ran advertisements for
EIGHT MONTHS with
the two arguing over who
would win gold. O’Brien
finished third and Johnson
didn’t even qualify to
M • II