Basketball teams finish season strong
By Megan Spears and
Ryan Schomber
Staff Writers
LADY BOBCATS
The Georgia College & State University Lady Bobcats basketball squad started off the season with a lot of unanswered questions, but pulled together to win the Peach Belt Athletic Conference, silencing critics.
The Lady Bobcats started off the season with a tough overtime loss to West Florida, 95-88. Center Dalana Watson had an incredible game, leading GC&SU with 20 points and 20 rebounds. The Lady Bobcats were looking for better results against Ouachita Baptist but were disappointed again. OB had the Lady Bobcats offbeat all night as GC&SU could not convert against Ouachita Baptist’s tough defense. The Lady Bobcats lost the game 83-67.
Watson led the Lady Bobcats for the second straight game, scoring 22 points; she and Rachel Jackson tied for the team high is rebounds with seven apiece.
In the first game in the Horton Homes Classic, GC&SU turned it around with a 77-56 victory over St. Leo. Senior Betsy Foy, who finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds, led the Lady Bobcats. The Lady Bobcats secured another victory in the second game of the HHC. GC&SU then came out and beat Tampa 84-75.
The Lady Bobcats had a lot of question marks going into Peach Belt Conference play, after Shemika Turner had graduated.
The Lady Bobcats began conference play with a 68-57 loss to Francis Marion. GC&SU (2-3) then stepped outside conference play as they beat Albany St. 81-61. Albany State could not stop Foy from scoring as she lead all scorers with 23 points, and her teammate Watson grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
“I think we started off the year not really knowing what we were capable of doing,” Watson said.
The Lady Bobcats suffered their second conference loss against Columbus State on Dec. 5. Foy’s 17 points and seven rebounds were not enough as Columbus State beat GC&SU 91-69.
In the Cougar Classic in Columbus, GC&SU went 1-1 leaving their record at 4-5. The Lady Bobcats were looking to improve their record with a win but were unable to rally against UNC Pembroke and lost 86-77. GC&SU finally secured a win with a score of 87-63 against Augusta State. After 11 games, the Lady Bobcats’ record stood at 5-6, and GC&SU wanted to improve on that.
“Towards the end of the season, we came together and started playing as a team,” Watson added.
However, the team was disappointed once again with a 70-62 loss against North Florida. Foy led the team with 21 points, and Andrea Lee led with nine rebounds.
January 9 marked the beginning of the Lady Bobcats’ winning streak. GC&SU put together a five game winning streak as the team started to climb up the Peach Belt ladder of teams. GC&SU beat Clayton St., Kennesaw St., North Florida, Lander and Armstrong Atlantic State, making their record 10-7 overall and enjoying a 6-4 Peach Belt Conference record.
The Lady Bobcats were unable to continue their streak in a game against Francis Marion. GC&SU lost 63-59 even though Andrea Lee scored with 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the team. The Lady Bobcats shaped up and won games against USC Spartanburg, UNC Pembroke and Clayton State. The teams’ record stood at 13-8 and 9-5 PBC record.
The Lady Bobcats suffered hard losses against USC Aiken and Columbus State. Aiken beat GC&SU 79-49, and the Lady Bobcats lost to Columbus State 101-92 in double overtime. Lee and Foy were unable to secure a victory even though they led the team in points and rebounds. Feb. 16 marked the last loss for GC&SU. The Lady Bobcats were unable to overcome an 81-79 loss against Kennesaw State, making the Lady Bobcats 13-11, as the team had a .500 conference record.
The Lady Bobcats picked up momentum in a game against Armstrong Atlantic State. They secured a 68-65 victory with Watson leading the team with 21 points and Foy leading with 13 rebounds. GC&SU stomped USC Spartanburg 90-58 on Feb. 23. Watson attacked USC with 15 points. Alicia Porter and Foy helped secure a victory with seven rebounds apiece. Going into the Peach Belt Tournament, GC&SU had a 15-11 record and with these two wins moved their conference record to 11-8.
Head Coach John Carrick said he believes that the Lady Bobcats almost achieved everything that was possible during the 2001-2002 season.
“I wish we could have won more games this season. There were three games that they handed to their opponents,” Coach Carrick said. “If we had won those three games, there’s not really anything else they could have been capable of achieving.”
The Lady Bobcats went 4-0 in the Peach Belt Tournament. They secured victories against USC Spartanburg, USC Aiken, Armstrong and Atlantic State.
“I hope that this tournament shows how much we have accomplished as a team,” Foy added.
The Bobcats stomped the competition and are now preparing for the NCAA II Regional Competition.
Head Coach John Carrick attributes part of the team’s success to their concept of unity.
“This team is unique because they are a family. As a coach you try to make your team become a family,” Coach Carrick said. “Teams that are families play better because they are playing as one. They care about each other.”
BOBCATS
The Bobcats enter this season attempting to shake off last season’s dismal record. With a lot of new players and good returning players the Bobcats had quite a good year.
In the opening game for Georgia College & State University, the Bobcats suffered a hard loss. Alabama-Huntsville beat GC&SU 76-75, senior Derrick Nicholson added 18 points and led the way with eight rebounds in the losing effort.
GC&SU was then able to put together a solid four-game winning streak. With wins over Montevallo, Paine College, Albany State, and Francis Marion, GC&SU’s record stood at 4-1 and 1-0 Peach Belt Conference.
Francis Marion was the Bobcats first PBC game as the team just got by for the win. GC&SU won the game 64-63, Rodney Keener lead the way with 17 points and Nicholson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
After suffering a loss to Columbus State, GC&SU got back in the win column with a victory over Albany State. Nicholson again lead GC&SU in both points (15) and rebounds (five).
The team stood at 5-2 and 1-1 in the PBC. GC&SU got a rude awakening when they met up against Johnson C. Smith College. JCS out played the Bobcats and won the game 67-61. GC&SU then put together a good two-game winning streak and improve their record to 7-3 and 2-1 in the PBC. The Bobcats were lead by Keener in both victories as he tallied 27 and 17 points in the two games respectively.
GC&SU then suffered its first two-game losing streak of the season to Augusta State and North Florida. The team was not able to hit the big shot when needed and that caused the bad results. Then the Bobcats split their next two games against Clayton State and Kennesaw State.
After beating Clayton State (which Keener had a game-high 29 points), the Bobcats then went up against Kennesaw and fell short with the scoring being 90-77. The Bobcats record was at 8-6 and 3-4 in the conference and the team wanted to improve their overall record.
Then GC&SU got hot winning four games in a row. After beating those teams, the Bobcats lost a tight game by one point to USC Spartanburg. Their record stood at 12-7 and 7-5 in the conference.
For the next three games the Bobcats won then lost, and won again. GC&SU then beat Columbus State 68-62, behind 16 points from Nicholson. GC&SU went into their game against Kennesaw State and lost a real heart breaking 70-68. The Bobcats record stood at 14-10 and 9-8 in their conference.
Then GC&SU had an easy game against Armstrong Atlantic State in which the Bobcats won by 22 points, 75-53. Nicholson led the way with 17 points while Daryl Ruffus grabbed nine rebounds to led GC&SU.
The Bobcats then played USC Spartanburg again, and could not beat them. As GC&SU lost 58-49. The tough defense of USCS was just too much for the Bobcats as they lost. Going into the Peach Belt Conference Tournament the Bobcats were 15-11 and 10-9 in the PBC.
The Bobcats opened the Tournament up against Lander and could not get past them as they lost 71-66 making the team’s dream, of being Peach Belt Champs just a myth.
The team played will all season and all for better things next season, as the Bobcats complete to be Peach Belt Champs.
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Mar 8 2002. Filed under Sports.
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