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Show !THURSDAY, MARCH l , 2000 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL SPORTS PAGE 13 su·u gymnasts beat BYU in fourth with a 9.825 followed by Morgan with her personal best of 9.825. Slack and Overstreet tied for second in the beam at 9.775, Overstreet's personal best. followed by Clark at In their second meet in three days, the SUU gymnasts 9.75 and freshman Rachel Bridges at 9.725. scored the second highest team score in SUU history and Junior Erica Burk took third on the uneven bars with a defeated top-20 team BYU Tuesday night in the Centrum. The Thunderbirds edged the Cougars 194.425 to 194.25. 9.85, her personal best, followed by junior Heather Slack The highest score in SUU's history was in 1997 when the and Overstreet at 9.8. But the win didn't come from the efforts of only a few of 'Birds posted a 194.475 against Utah State in Cedar City. This was also the first time in 22 tries that SUU beat the athletes. Even though there were a few little mistakes, BYU. The gymnasts s~id that they didn't know they had every member of the team performed well. won until it was announced over the loud speaker. "When this team hits everyone on everything, which they · coach tried to trick us. to make us think that we didn't can do, we're going to be huge," said Bauman. The team scored season highs in win,· said freshman Jayme both the bars (48.875) and the Morgan. "We all knew that it was beam (48.575). close • "I think we worked really hard as "Yeah, that was fun. They all a team, and that help push thought that that was it, we had everyone to do great," Sc!id barely lost.· said SUU Head Coach Scott Bauman · 1love doing that Overstreet. stuff · The win will build confidence in the young squad, which keeps The meet came down to the last scoring higher as the season goes gymnast, which happened to _be on. freshman Sarah Geisler competing "I feel confident and I'm the 1n the floor Geisler nailed her coach," said Bauman. · rm not even routine. scoring a 9.725. and the one who goes out and does any earned SUU the victory, and was of this stuff." named Gymnast of the Meet. · 1didn't design it to come down Clark said that scoring the second to a freshman on the floor to win it , ~ highest mark in school history is a ~ major accomplishment because it for us," said Bauman. "It actually happened that way and she did a ~ shows how good the team is. She good job." I!! also warns that the squad isn't done ~ setting records, and will continue to Freshman Caycee Overstreet performed well, winning the all~ score higher. around, scoring a 38.95. Junior ~ "We still have three more meets 0 Suzi Clark finished fourth in the "-------' left, one pf them a huge home meet, so this could be fun.· Freshman Caycee Overstreet won bott(the all-around with a 38.8. all-around'and the floor exercise competitions The next meet is Monday against Overstreet also won the floor during the SUU victory over BYU Tuesday. Oklahoma at 7 p.m. in the centrum. exercise with a 9.875. Clark came BY JASEN ASAY JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR Mens b-ball ready for tourney 75-60 (Jan. 10) when senior Tyson Hancock scored 21 SUU's men's basketball team heads into the MidContinent Conference tournament in Fort Wayne, Ind., as points and the SUU defense grabbed a season-high 19 the number-two seed and will play Western Illinois in the steals. But last week when the 'Birds traveled to WIU, the first game on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. (MST). The game can Leathernecks came out on top 72-58. That loss dropped be heard live on 590 AM. The winner of the tourney will SUU out of first place in the conference. earn an automatic berth in the Pre-season all-Mid-Con pick NCAA Championship Tournament. Juan Martinez leads Western Illinois in both scoring (14.0 ppg) For the fifth time in the last six and rebounding (7.5 rpg). Bill years. Valparaiso will be the No. 1 Heisler is· the only other seed in the Mid-Continent Leatherneck scoring in double Conference Tournament. Although figures (10.0 ppg), but Fernando Oakland claimed the regular-season Coloneze averages 9.1 ppg and is title with an 11-5 Mid-Con record , second on the squad in the Golden Grizzlies are not eligible rebounding at 5.8 per game. for the Mid-Con Tournament until Freshman Matt Robins paces the 2002. Oakland is in its first year in team in assists with 3.5 per game. the Mid-Continent Conference and is As a team, WIU averages 65.2 in its two-year waiting period to be ppg on 43.8 percent shooting, eligible for an automatic bid in men's 37.2 percent from three-point basketball Moving to second place. .., territory. The Leathernecks have Valparaiso, UMKC and Southern Utah finished in a three-way tie each ~ given up an average of 70.7 ppg 8 on 44.6 percent shooting, 39.1 w ith a 10-6 conference record. Because Valparaiso swept Oakland ~ percent threes. WIU has hit 67.8 in the regular season, the ~ percent of its free throws and has Crusaders, whose five year reign .'4 f2 out-rebounded opponents by an over the Mid-Con standings was 1111! 1111 " " "1 ~ average of 34.5-33.8. " "' "• ._._.._._ SUU is coming off a huge 84-62 ended by the newcomers, earn the -......c-"""""'----"--..........:................c.......J win at Chicago State on Saturday number one seed. Southern Utah Fred House has displayed his dunking ability where the 'Birds proved that they split with Oakland and UMKC was SUU fans in the Centrum. Now he, along can play well away from the to swept by Oakland, therefore with the rest of the team, has his sights on · Centrum. Jeff Moncao tied his Southern Utah will play at the earning .a trip to the NCAA Championship career-high of 27 points and number two spot. while UMKC will Tournament. , Tyson Hancock added 17. enter the tourney as the number If the 'Birds are victorious, they three seed. The Thunderbirds and the Leathernecks split their games will face the winner of the UMKC/Chicago state in the conference semi-finals on Monday. this season, with both teams winning at home. SUU won 8 Sophomore Megan Lofthouse not only proved that she can score by scoring 14. 1 points per game, but has also been a threat on defense. Women looking for upset w .i n SUU's women's basketball team looks to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament as the seventh-seed in the 2000 Mid-Continent Conference Tournament in Fort Wayne. Ind .. beginning Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds face second-seeded Youngstown State Saturday at 3 p.m. (MST), at the Memorial Coliseum. The game can be heard live on Power 91 , or on the World Wide Web at www.suu.edu/ksuu. SUU is 1-7 all-time against Youngstown State, including two losses this season. The 'Birds lost a 67-54 overtime game at YSU, Dec. 4, followed by 81-80 thriller in Cedar City, Feb. 12. The Penguins also own two wins over SUU in MidCon tournament play, having knocked the 'Birds out in the semi-finals the past two seasons; 83-73 in 1998 and 80-63 in 1999. "Both games we've played against them have come down to the wire and free throw shooting played a part in us not winning those games.· said SUU Head Coach Joe Hillock. "Ed [DiGregorio) will have his team ready to play. Hopefully we can come out and do the things we need to in order to give us a chance to win • Freshman Lindsay Hille was finally able to push her scoring average to double figures in the final week of the regular season. Hille scored a teamhigh 17 points in the win at CSU, to give her a 10.0 ppg average. Hille has led or co-led the team in scoring in each of the last five games and has connected on 19-of-42 three-pointers in that stretch, including a school single-game record seven against Youngstown State. Sophomore Megan Lofthouse led the team in scoring from wire to wire this season. The 5-9 guard currently has a 14.1 ppg average, which is good for eighth on the Mid-Con scoring list. Lofthouse has paced the team in scoring in 12-of26 games this season. Junior Sarah Pratt has averaged 11 .8 points and 8.2 rebounds since the injury, including a 13 point, nine board performance at CSU . Pratt is second on the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg. She also won the Mid-Con rebounding title with an 8.8 rpg average, marking the second-straight year a 'Bird has done so. Lofthouse, Pratt and Hille all received allConference recognition Tuesday. Lofthouse was named to the all-Mid-Con second team by both the coaches and media, while Pratt was named to the second team by the media. Hille was named to the all-Freshman Team by both the coaches and media. Senior Melissa Hi~s became SUU's fourthleading rebounder all-time against UMKC Jan. 27. The 6-2 center currently has 567 caroms to her credit, 116 away from Chris Tea, who had 683 rebounds from 1977-80. Current SUU Assistant Coach Myndee Larsen is the all-time leader with 913 rebounds over her four-year career (1993-98). ' I. |