March 31, 2000
SPORTS
.11
Wisconsin wins 61-48, upsetting LSU
n\7 A XTri\7 HTT’'Tl?t>
by ANDY BITTER
badger herald
(U-WIRE) ALBUQUERQUE,
N.M. — Maybe they were saving
their best for the end of the season.
Maybe the stars were lined up just right.
Maybe it’s something in the water.
Whatever the explanation, it’s unbe-
Hevable.
The Wisconsin men’s basketball
team upset LSU, the No. 4 team, with a
61-48 Thursday night to advance to the
Elite Eight for the first time in the mod
em era. The Badgers will face sixth-
seeded Purdue, who defeated Gonzaga
75-66 earlier in the night. The game will
be the fourth time these two teams will
meet this year.
Wisconsin (21 -13) put on a defen
sive clinic, as it kept LSU’s two star
forwards, Stromile Swift and Jabari
Smith, in check. Swift and Smith only
managed 12 points apiece, and the next
highest point total on the team was
seven points by Jermaine Williams, a
backup forward.
In the end, the Badgers knew it
was their defense that keyed the win.
“I think it was tough,” UW for
ward Mark Vershaw said. “For the
whole game, they didn’t get anything
easy. We built a cushion, and you
could just see them get more frustrated
as the game went on.”
“We are very pleased with our
effort,” UW head coach Dick Bennett
said. “Our ability to get all five guys
on the floor to play hard was signifi
cant. We weren’t pretty and weren’t
sharp offensively, but we made LSU
earn everything, and we took advantage
of the opportunities.”
In fact, LSU only managed to
score 14 points in the first half to go
with 14 turnovers. At one point, the
Tigers didn’t attempt a field goal for
nearly five minutes. Guard Mike
Kelley was the primary thorn in the
Tigers’ side, as usual. The junior tal
lied five steals and disrupted LSU’s
offensive sets tremendously.
“I just credit the system that we
use and my teammates,” Kelley said.
“I think, sometimes defensively, I get
praise for what I do on the court, but
it’s really a five-man defense. When
you have guys behind you like Jon
[Bryant] and Andy [Kowskej and all
the other guys, we are abl^^o shut
down the athleticism of other people.”
Neither team came out of the
gates smoking, but LSU struck first
when Swift sunk a three-pointer just
over two minutes into the game. UW
forward Andy Kowske hit a pair of baby
hooks, but LSU managed to open up a
9-6 lead when Jermaine Williams put in
a layup after grabbing an offensive
board.
The Badgers, especially Vershaw
could not get anything going early on.
The junior air-balled his first field
goal attempt, and it appeared to rattle
him.
LSU went up 14-11, but Wiscon
sin countered with an 11 -0 run to take
its first lead of the game. Bryant hit a
Women’s soccer vs.
SGA in fund-raiser
Photo by Maggie Singleton
Rachel Scalf maneuvers around SGA member in fundraiser game.
three-pointer, and then Vershaw found
him open two possessions later on a
backdoor pass for a layup. On LSU’s
next possession, Kelley stole an er
rant pass and took it the length of the
floor for a layup to put Wisconsin up
20-14.
Over that stretch, the Badgers’
defense buckled down, as defenders
grabbed two steals, coerced a five-
second violation and forced two
passes to go out of bounds. UW did
this despite foul trouble to two of its
big men, Kowske and Charlie Wills,
who picked up two and three fouls in
the half, respectively.
It was clear that because the
game was so physical, neither team
could find any rhythm in the first half.
The halftime stats confirmed the lack
of offensive fluidity, as the high scorer
on both teams only had five points (Swift
and Vershaw).
LSU hit only 33.3 percent of its
shots, but that still topped Wisconsin’s
30 percent from the field.
In the second half, LSU finally
broke it’s seven-minute drought when
Smith converted a layup after forcing a
turnover under the Badgers’ basket.
As the game wore on, Wisconsin’s
defense got tougher. Over one three-
possession stretch, Kowske blocked a
shot by Smith, Linton stole an inbounds
pass and guard Duany Duany forced a
steal when LSU point guard Torris
Bright tried to drive.
“I saw it around the seven-to five-
minute mark,” Linton said. “[LSU
wasn’t] running the court as hard, and
they weren’t posting up as hard. They
were taking terrible shots. When you
see things like that, you know you’ve
got the guys.”
Runners receive high
honors at Nationals
INFORMANT RENE ZENO
Seven members of indoor
track competed at the Nationals
in Lincoln, Nebraska earlier this
month. All-Americans included
Bereket Kiflu, John McMilliam
and Elexis Sharangabo.
Sharangabo placed first in
the 3000-meter. Kiflu ran the
5000-meter. According to Kiflu,
while mnning, he encouraged him
self with thoughts like: “hang on,
you could be the hero.”
John McMilliam ran the mile
and the DMR relay.
“It was a great feeling, but
I am glad it is over,” said
McMilliam.
Justin Turner ran the 5000-
meters, almost qualifying for the
finals. Renee Zeno ran the 55-
meter and the 200-meter, finish
ing ninth. Jamar Bryson ran the
mile and the DMR relay. William Restall
ran the 400-meter and also ran in the
DMR.
Also awarded All-American, the
Staff Photo
Track continues training for outdoor events.
DMR relay team finished just one sec
ond behind the winning team. The team
expects equal success in outdoor events.
Tennis match update
BY RENE ZENO
The 2000 tennis team’s nine
members hit the courts on March 21.
The game took place at Spartanburg
Methodist College. These first
matches were warm-ups for a prom
ising season.
“Last year we went to Nationals
and the same is expected this year,” said
Jessica Rodriguez, junior.
Winning single matches were
Camille Lacey and Katie Goetz.
Kristan Cherry and Lovina Roy won
one double match.