OCR Text |
Show !THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 1001 UNIVERSITY JOURNAL SPORTS PAGE171 Lady 'Birds down Chicago St. BY JASON ERICKSON JOURNAL SPORTS EDITOR Southern Utah University's Sally Johnson scored 15 points to help the Thunderbirds to a 77-60 victory over Mid-Con foe Chicago State Monday night at the Centrum. Lindsey Hille and Erin Kelly combined for eight three pointers to help the 'Birds to a team total of 12, setting a new school record . The win marked the fifth straight for the 'Birds, who upped their record to 3-1 in conference play and 8-7 overall . "I was very pleased with our performance tonight," SUU Coach Joe Hillock said. "I feel like the team is working hard in practice and its beginning to pay off for them ." SUU broke out with a 14-2 run midway through the first half to go in to halftime with a commanding 43-27 lead . SUU's Johnson scored her 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting , while Hille added 14 for the 'Birds and pulled down a season high eight rebounds. CSU 's Loretta Ellul had a team high 16 points for the Cougars. "My shots were falling tonight," Johnson said. "I felt what really helped us tonight was our confidence. We know we can take these conference games." SUU shot an impressive 12-of-25 from beyond the arc, breaking the school record for most three pointers in a single game. The old record was 11 set earlier this season against Air Force. , "Our post players were getting double teamed down low so it opened the outside right up,' Hmock said. · we have post players who are really good passers and it worked for us tonight. ' SUU held-CSU to 41 percent on 21 -of-51 shooting. The SUU defense also forced 19 turnovers that created many opportunities for the 'Birds to score . "We did a lot of things right tonight, ho~ever, there are still a lot of things we need to work on in practice," Hillock said. SUU will continue its conference play this week as they travel to Michigan and Ohio to face Oakland • and Youngstown State. "We are looking forward to this weekend against Mid-Con teams," Hillock said. " It will be a tough road trip and we will have to be road warriors but we can get things done." Oakland is currently tied with the Thunderbirds for second place in the Mid-Con standings. Oakland's only loss came to Oral Roberts who is the league .leader at 4-0. "The team is confident going into this road trip ," Johnson said . "We feel that we will come home with a couple of big conference wins this weekend." The Thunderbirds will be back home on Jan . 20 to • begin a three game homestand. _, f--.llill!lilii/iiiliii ~ a: i3 iilc, 1--~z !;; ~ ~ ~ SUU guard Megan Woolston charges to the hoop for two of her eight points in Monday night's game against Chicago State. The Thunderbirds won 77-60 -and improved to 3-1 in Mid-Con Conference play. SUU will be on the road this weekend against Oakland and Youngstown State. Hoop squad faces Mid-Con foes Gymnasts to host UC Southerp Utah continues Mid-Continent For the Thunderbirds, John Wheeler leads the Conference play this week as the Thunderbirds team in field goal percentage at 69.8 and he is travel to Michigan and Ohio for contests with cofiring at an incredible 83.3 percent pace in league league leaders Oakland and Youngstown State. All games, he's 10 of 12 including four of five against three teams are tief;I atop the league standings with Western Illinois. 3-1 conference marks . SUU blocked a season-high five shots against The Thunderbirds (11 -3, 3-1 Mid-Con), are riding the Leathernecks. a five-game winning streak, which includes a pair of House moved into third place on the SUU career conference wins, last · steals list against week's triumphs over .Chicago State: he now Chicago State (75-64) has 154 and needs five and Western Illinois to pass Willie Hicks (71-56) in Cedar City. (1981 -83) to move .into SUU also has a pair of second place. Monaco road wins in the stretch, is the all-time leader at Utah (77-70) and at with 186 and counting. Idaho State (67-63 in House is also 9n a pace overtime). to break his own SUU Oakland (6-9, 3-1 Midsingle-season steals Con) has won three of its record of 98 : With 56 last four games and is. through the fir st 14 coming off a 70-57 win at games (4.0 spg) he is UMKC last Saturday on a pace for 112 night. The Grizzlies also through a 28-game have league wins over season . Youngstown State and Monaco moved atop Chicago State. Their lone SUU's career 3-point conference loss came at attempts list at ISU and the hands of Oral with 14 more last week Roberts, 91-77, last he now has attempted Thursday in Tulsa. 540; he is 20 3-pointers Youngstown St. (11-6, shy of the SUU record 3-1 Mid-Con) has won ., for successful treys and three straight and six of ~ with his 24 points vs. its last seven , including a Western Illinois he 73-71 win at IUPUI last iii moved into fourth place Saturday and a 75-63 5 on SUU's.career home win over UMKC ~ scoring list. last Thursday. ffi SUU now begins a Youngstown State's only ., five game swing against SUU guard Jeff Monaco drives to the basket to league Joss was at mid-con conference help SUU to a vi9tory over Western Illinois. The TOakland, 63-62. The foes. The next home Birds are on a flVe-game winning streak and are Penguins play at game for the 'Birds is atop the Mid-Continent Conference standings. Valparaiso Thursday Feb.1 against night. , Valparaiso, when the The Thunderbirds have now won five straight 'Birds begin a three game homestand against games, equalling their longest winning streaks in defending Mid-Con champion Valparaiso. SUU each of the previous two seasons, and 16 straight currently sits atop the conference standings with a at home. SUU went undefeated at home in 2000. 3-1 record. The 'Birds overall record is 11-3. g Santa Barbara Friday Southern Utah opens its 2001 season home Friday when the Thunderbirds host UC Santa Barbara in the Centrum . SUU opened the 2001 season with its highest opening score ever, a 190.850, which bettered the 190.750 the team scored at home against Nebraska to open the 1997 se.ason. Friday's meet will be UCSB's season-opener. The T-Birds and Gauchos have split a dozen meets in the past, but four of SUU's six wins have come the last four times the teams have met. The teams last met in 1998, when the 'Birds swept the home-and-home series, winning in Cedar City 188.55186.95 and taking the meet in Santa Barbara by a final score of 191 .625-184.400. SUU Head Coach Scott Bauman (Utah State '.90) is in his 10th season . Bauman, the 1993 Midwest Region's Coach of the Year. has a 59-86 career dual-meet record. Heather Slack won the all-around at Utah, quite a feat for any gymnast on the Utes' home court and even more so when one considers Slack hadn't thrown a vault in competition in two years. Her 9.650 effort on the vault was a personal best to boot. Slack's 38.925 was the 1oth-best all-around mark in Southern Utah gymnastics history. SUU ranked among the nation's top-20 in attendance for the eighth straight season last year, with an average of 1,341 fans per meet. SUU ranked 19th in 2000, just behind Nebraska (1 ,372} and just ahead of Boise State (1,292}. Southern Utah has fini~hed among the nation's top-three academically for eight straight years, including three overall national championships and another Division I-only championship. Last year the Thunderbird gymnasts posted a team GPA of 3.639 to finish second to Utah and a total of nine individuals earned academic all-America recognition. The Thunderbirds recorded a school-record 193.400 regional qualifying score (ROS) after posting five of the top-11 scores in school history last season, includirJg the second-best ever. a 194.425 in a win over 11th-ranked Brigham Young. Although the team finished with a 4-13 overall mark, six of the team's losses (and one of its wins) came against teams ranked among the nation 's top-12 teams in the final regular-season poll and 11 came against teams ranked in the final top-25. The only losses to non-top-25 teams were to Arizona and UC Berkeley at Arizona . "Were excited to be at home and open the season against UC Santa Barbara," SUU Coach Scott Bauman said. "I know our girls will be ready to compete. · After its meet with UCSB, SUU's next home meet will be against in-state rival Brigham Young University on ·F eb. 12, after a three-game road swing for the Lady Thunderbirds. I' |