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Page 6 The Banner February 19, ] Sports •Itruary Women's basketball downs UMBC for homecoming crowd By Andrew Pearson staff Writer The UNCA women’s basketball team snapped its six game losing streak by defeating UMBC 59-51 on Feb. 14 in the Justice Center. The 1,259 in attendance, the larg est home crowd this season for a UNCA women’s basketball game, witnessed the Bulldogs as they over came a nine-point halftime deficit and moved one step closer towards a favorable seed in the upcoming Big South Tournament. “The win helped the program in many ways. We had a nice crowd, and the team handled the situation well by scratching out a win,” UNCA Head Coach Kathleen We ber said. UMBC dominated both sides of the ball in the first half and went into halftime leading the Bulldogs 27-18. Defensively, the Retrievers filled the Bulldogs’ passing lanes and held the Bulldogs’ field goal percentage down to 29 percent. Meanwhile, UMBC’s Monica Logan, the Big South’s leading rebounder, averaging 9.8 rebounds a game, and guard Kendra Damaan, who averages 14 points a game, helped the Retrievers’ shoot 57 per cent from the field. During halftime, Weber’s coach ing staff focused on containing Logan and Damaan’s production on offense. The Bulldogs responded by shutting down Damaan and lim iting Logan to four points and one rebound during the final 20 min utes. “We looked at the goals we had established which included cutting Logan and Damaan’s stats in half for the game. We went into half- time and both were well on their way to going over their averages. In ihe second half we did a good job of keeping Logan off the glass and attacking her on defense when she got the ball in the post,” Weber said. UNCA’s guard trio ofAmy Freed, Emily Hill, and Mandy Edwards, continually penetrated deep into the heart of UMBC’s defense, draw ing fouls and opening up opportu nities tor the Bulldogs inside the paint. I n addition to outrebounding the Retrievers 33-25, the Bulldogs produced 23 points from the free throw line to overwhelm UMBC. Jessica Januseski’s 12 points led the Bulldogs, who outscored the Retrievers 41 -24 in the second half Januseski was 3-4 from the field and perfect from the free-throw line with six points in six attempts. Throughout the second half, Januseski and Forward Amanda Brewer established the Bulldogs control over the offensive glass, which is one of Weber’s chief con cerns each time UNCA hits the basketball court. “That is where I believe the game is won, and we were able to stay aggressive in there the whole way through,” Weber said. The Retrievers were led by Logan’s 12 points and eight rebounds. Kathy Doyle and Damaan added 11 points each. Freed matched teammate Januseski with a game-high 12 points. Edwards dished out a game- high six assists in addition to 11 points and two steals. Center Candy Credito grabbed six rebounds, and forward Nicole Sampson added five. The Bulldogs used 11 players against the Retrievers, and Weber feels contributions from her entire team must continue if the Bulldogs are to finish their season on a high note. “We need consistency from every body as we close out these last two weeks of the season. We have been talking about the conference tour nament all season long and for people to be stepping up now is great, as long as we can maintain it,” Weber said. UNCA plays their final regular season conference game Saturday, when fhey travel to Rock Hill, SC to squ'are off against the Winthrop University Eagles. UNCA 'top dogs' in Big South By Chris Garner Sports Editor The UNCA men’s basketball team added another conference win to their record as they defeated the UMBC Retrievers 90-82 on Feb. 14 at UNCA’s annual homecom ing game. “UMBC did .lOt penetrate and take advantage ofsome ofour weak nesses, but what they did they did really well,” Head Coach Eddie Biedenbach said. “They got them selves into a hole by not attacking the zone, just shooting the long shot.” SeniorGuardJosh Pittman topped his season-high 31 points against Liberty on Feb. 9 as he totaled 32 agiaiist the Retrievers to move him into fifth place in UNCA’s all-time scoring leaders. Senior Forwards Robert Stevenson and Kevin Martin, nick-named “Kmart” by (he student cheering section, both scored in the double digits with 16 and 18, respectively. Stevenson and Martin also lead the team in rebounding with seven each. UNCA shot 51 percent from the floor, 35 percent from behind the arc, and an impressive 85 percent from the free-throw line. UMBC’s Isaac Green lead the Retrievers in scoring with 19. Fresh man Terence Ward trailed Green with 16, while teammates Kenny Okafor and Tim Hyland followed close behind with 14 and 13, re spectively. Okafor, the team’s leading scorer and the league’s leading rebounder got into foul trouble in the second half, which was one of the keys to the Bulldogs’ success, according to Biedenbach. “Okafor got into a little bit of foul trouble, and that is really what hurt UMBC more than anything. That gave us a chance to keep the lead,” Biedenbach said. The Retrievers shot 49 percent from the field, 36 percent from three-point range, and 81 percent from the foul line. “We did not play as well as we could have,” Pittman said. “They made some long three-pointers, and anytime you shoot like that you are going to stay in the game.” The Bulldogs play their final con ference game against Winthrop on Feb. 21 at the Justice Center. UNCA will receive a first-round bye to the Big South Tournament next week if they win against Winthrop. Iftheylose to Winthrop, Radford must win their final con ference game, and Liberty must lose their final conference game in or der for Radford to receive the bye. If a bye is granted to UNCA, the Bulldogs will begin the tournament in the semi-final round on Feb. 27. ( Manag sents “Yo sful” Feb, le Laurel F mni Bar >ak. Food Con ilkins at »alkins@tx more info |e Healing lean Amei ■arts groui Ling the |en to peo| [[trore inf( BSU at: IL(Wom tion) nne sat 12:1 Dinin ismith $ rested in ndingmei tionships lormed U ship (Rl evening in High! we expic Is, Ame the Bib se import W I tie Fans! lussing th PHOTO BY PRESTON GANNI iphies, an' Adam Earnhardt follows up a missed shot with a power dunk. Earnhardt was called for charging on the play. Bulldog tennis gets a fresh start in 1998 By Greg Sessoms staff Writer With two wins already under their belts, this year’s men’s tennis team is poised to improve dramatically on last year’s winless season. The Bulldogs defeated Wright State and Western Kentucky in the 1998 Eastern Kentucky Tournament, narrowly losing to the host team of Eastern Kentucky in the finals. The Bulldogs soundly beat Wright State, winning two of three doubles matches and four of six matches The men’s team went on to domi nate Western Kentucky, sweeping all three doubles matches and win ning five of six matches In the finals. Eastern Kentucky barely won all three doubles matches, 8-6, 9-8, and 8-6. UNCA bounced back during -the singles matches with two wins by Jimmy Langton and Scott Prybys, giving UNCA an early 2-1 lead. Rockets blast off at UNCA PHOTO BY CHRIS BROOKER “Rainbow” of the Harlem Rockets scored big with chil dren as well as other members of the community as he dazzled the audience with his witty antics, spectacular shots, and charming ways in Justice Gym on Feb.12. H owever, Eastern Kentucky re sponded by winning the remaining four matches to win the tourna ment. On Feb. 8 and 9, the men’s team lost their next two matches to UNC- Greensboro ,the number one team in the nation, and UNC-Chapel Hill. The Bulldogs’ two wins at the Eastern Kentucky Tournamentwere a good start after last year’s disappointing 0-25 record and the relative inexperience of this year’s team. With the exception of this year’s top seed, Brandon Shupe, all the players are freshmen. Despite the teams youth, Head Coach Dan Silverstein remains optimistic about his team’s abilities. “It is a new attitude. We have all new guys who were not here for that 0-25 last year. I think the kids are doing a great job now,” Silverstein said. UNCA’s men’s lineup is led by Shupe, a junior transfer student from Louisville. Silverstein thinks Shupe will help the younger mem bers be more competitive in college level matches. “He is a good Division I, number one player, which helps us through out the remainder of our lineup,” Silverstein said. Jimmy Langton, a freshman from Florida, is the number two seed. “He has a powerful game; ground strokes, big forehand, and a big serve,” Silverstein said. Jacob Jez, a freshman from the Czech Republic, fills the number three spot. “He is an all-court player with a good first serve,” Silverstein said. The fourth seeded player is Scott Prybys. “He has great hands at the net and good court movement, he just needs a little bit more experi ence,” Silverstein said. Carlyjuan Asse, a freshman from Florida, rounds out the top five positions. “He has a big ground stroke game, but he needs to work on his volleys,” Silverstein said. “We have a solid lineup. It is just . up to how these freshmen can play. We have won two of our first five matches and we have lost to three really good teams,” Silverstein said. The women’s team is off to a slower start this year, suffering two defeats at the hands of UNC Greensboro and East Tennessee State. They are “probably the top two teams” in the Southern Con ference, according to Silverstein. ■Inclement weather this winter may have contributed to the losses, according to Silverstein. “We just have not had enough time, dueto the weather, togetout and practice. But all the \ have a chance to do well conference,” Silverstein said. Despite the initial losses, Silva predicts the women will per well this year. “It is possible we could fini the top three or four position the conference, Silverstein sail Laura Hastay, a freshman o Florida, is the top seed on this) women’s team. “She probably ranked in thi thirty in Florida as a high senior. She has a strong fore and a great backhand,” Silver! said. Senior Heather Manly is then ber two seed. “She is playing better and bi every match,” Silverstein said Senior Laura Malanik has the ber three spot. “She has a solid ground stroke the baseline,” Silverstein said. Hy Gray, Jennifer Smith and( Rhoney occupy the remainin six positions on the team. How Smith is currently inactive due ankle injury. “She has been out for two already,” Silverstein said. In the meantime, her sister, L: Smith, is playing in her place. I ■ ■ ■ I We can pick out the feet of a leader, can you? We know certain kinds of feet make sood RAs— feet that step up to challenge, feet that like to be with other kinds of feet, feet that jump into ser vice projects and student activities, and feet that are willing to go places. Sound like your feet? Then hop, walk, skip, march, stomp or on over and show us those feet. RA Applications are now available in the Housing Office for up to 50 RA positions for the 1998-99 year. Remember, we want your feet... we think they might be carrying around a leader... Deadline for applications: March 24 I
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