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Show i-- X ;, 7. i RYAN SHUPETHE SIGNPOST WSU's Nicole Scott-Davies puts one away during her team's sweep of the competition in Saturday's spring tournament. Jazz and Rockets tied, By Chris Peterson Signpost sports editor It's strange how quickly a team's fortune can change in the National Basketball Association. It was just Thursday night when Utah Jazz guard John Stockton hit a running layup with 2.4 seconds left to break a tie and lift his team to victory over the Houston Rockets. The shot gave the Jazz a 1-0 lead in their first roundbest-of-five series with the defending champs, and had fans thinking that a sweep of the Rockets was not out of reach. The Jazz were able to come through with the victory despite center Hakeem Olajuwon's exceptional shooting performance. He shot a blistering 20-for-30 from the field to lead all scorers with 45 points. Stockton led the Jazz in scoring with 28 points, while Karl Malone chipped in with 25. "This was a nice, hard-earned win for us," Malone said. "But now we've got to get ready for the next game." But nothing could have prepared the Jazz for the onslaught the Rockets had in store for them on Saturday night. From the opening tip, it was apparent that the Jazz would have E - i V - -."1 1IUTAH to play catch-up ball, as Houston jumped out to an early 14-4 margin.The Rockets' three-point shooting was the difference, as they hit 7-of-9 from behind the arc in the first quarter alone. They added four more three-pointers in the second quarter, as their lead grew to as much as 17 at 61-44. The Jazz then went on a 20-8 run to close to within 69-64 at halftime, and got the crowd back into the game. "We got back into it at the end of the first half because I thought that our defense came alive and we made some stops. It looked like we were going to have a decent ball game." It was the first two and a half minutes of the second half though, that buried the Jazz. During that stretch, the Rockets scored 13 unanswered points, including two more three-pointers.. Houston cruised the rest of the way, as their lead ballooned to 27 at 11 8-91 with 8:08 left to play. The Jazz subs cut that margin in half in the closing minutes, but it had long been determined that the r Lady 'Cats clean up in volleyball tourney By Rob Westerverlt Signpost staff writer Who's the top women's volleyball team in the state of Utah? Hint it's not Brigham Young of the University of Utah. It's our own lady Wildcats. After Saturday's Wildcat spring volleyball tournament at the Dee Events Center, Weber State University completed its first-ever sweep of the state by shutting out the U of U, Utah State University and Utah Valley State College. The Wildcats began their Utah winning streak April 8 when they beat BYU for the first time at their tournament in Provo. Ever since then, the 'Cats have made it a habit of annihilating teams residing on the Wasatch Front. The tournament started at 9 a.m. and matched the Wildcats against the Utah Utes for what WSU thought would be their toughest opponent. But instead of backing down, the 'Cats attacked the Utes with aggressive play and took an early 7-1 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Holley said WSU's quick start was attributed to the team's cohesive-ness and "play hard" attitude. "We're all friends, everyone on the team gets along," she said. series goes Rockets were just too much for their opponents on this particular night. "At the start of the third quarter our defense failed again," Sloan said. "We weren't ready to get up and play them. They came down and shot three or fourthree-pointers and bang, they put us in the hole right away. This is a championship team. They know how to come out and play." For the night, the Rockets set NBA playoff game records for the most three-pointers made in a game (19), half (11), quarter (7). They also tied the record for most three-pointers attempted in a game with 28. As a team, Houston hit 19-of-28 attempts to slvot at a 67.9 percent clip. Kenny Smith led the Rockets' charge, shooting 7-for-8 from the three-point area, 10-for-13 overall, and finished with 32 points. He tied the record for most three-pointers made in a half with 6. Clyde Drexler, who had only seven pointsin game one, contributed 30 points. Also in double figures in scoring for the Rockets was Olajuwon with 27, Robert Horry with 21 and Mario Elie with 13. The Jazz were led by Karl Malone, who had 28 points and 17 rebounds. Jeff Hornacek was8-of-9 from the field, chipping in 21 . "We knew that if we wanted to win, we needed to play hard from the start. But defense was definitely the key." If defense was the key, then the 'Cats had a lock on the Utes. In the first game, WSU destroyed their rival 15-2, behind a devastating blocking line of sophomore Annette Hill and freshman Melanie Smith. Hill, a 5-foot-ll-inch outside hitter said that her defensive play has stepped up a notch mainly because of rigorous off season weight training and calisthenics. "We've been practicing real hard, and the lifting has really paid off," she said. "I can jump higher than ever before and hit harder." WSU's defense finished off the Utes 15-12 in the second game. The 'Cats took the first game 15-9 behind the offensive play of right side hitter Leah Karra tti, who said that teamwork is something she has noticed more of this spring. Weber State downed UVSC in two, winning the second game 15-9. In the last match, WSU pounced on Utah State 15-8, 15-2. WSU's clean sweep came as no surprise to head coach Al Givens. . See Sweep page 11 to Houston Stockton came in with 1 2 points and 12 assists. Other significant scorers for the Jazz were David Benoit with 12, AntoineCarrwith 11 and Tom Chambers with 10. After the game, Jazz players were frustrated about the Rockets' record -setting night from behind the three-point line. "Those guys were killing us with the three-point shots," Carr said. "There wasn't much we could do about that except to try to stay at home against them and just try to play Olajuwonone-on-one. I tried to guard Olajuwon, but those guys kept launching threes. It makes it that much harder to guard him inside." With the series now tied 1-1, the two teams now head to Houston for games 3 and 4. Both teams know that it's going to be a battle the rest of the way. "It think we need to control the tempo, so they don't have the energy to shoot all those threes," guard Blue Edwards said. "We need to put some pressure on them, and force them to make some extra passes." "We're looking forward to the next couple of games," Rockets guard Clyde Drexler said. "The Jazz are a very good team, so we're anticipating nothing less than some very tough play." 'Cat Tracks Women fourth in final golf tourney The Weber State University women's golf team took fourth at the Idaho State Bengal Classic, held Wednesday in Blackfoot, Idaho. Montana State University won the event with rounds of 323 and 333. The Bobcats ended up 42 strokes better than Idaho State. Jen McGregor won medalist honors with a total of 160. Leading the way for WSU was Aimee Aa rdema, who was one stroke back. Other Weber State finishers were Carlie Andrews in the 14thspot, Valerie Barber at 15th and Danna Dehlin at 20th. Men's basketball raises money for cancer research It was recently announced that the Weber State University men's basketball team raised $4,361.50 for the American Cancer Society during the 1994-95 season. The American Cancer Society teamed up nationwide with the National Association of Basketball Coaches to raise money for cancer research. Persons solicited pledges for different amoun ts of money for each three-point shot made by their college team. The total money raised by Weber State was the second highest in the state . WSU hit for 168 three-pointers on the year. Registration for campus courses announced The Wilderness Recreation Center is offering courses on basic kayaking May 3, 17, 31 and June 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Swenson Gym pool. All equipment will be provided by the WRC. Registration is in room 25 of the Health and Physical Education Complex. The WRC is offering basic instruction on canoeing, beginning May 2 and 24 at 4:30 p.m. at the southwest corner of the duck pond on campus. For more information on both , call 626-6373 or 626-7354 or come to the WRC in the Health and Physical Education Center. Swimming lessons for children two to five years old will begin May 2 at the Swenson pool. Registration is today. Forms are available at the Swenson Gym issue room or pool. Call 626-6688. |