Winless No More
South Carolina (7-19, 1-11) picked up its first win of the 2005 SEC season against Alabama on Sunday. The Gamecocks, who faced Tennessee, LSU and Georgia in the weeks preceding the Alabama game, had been on a 17-game SEC losing streak.
USC was led by 19 points and nine rebounds from sophomore guard Stacy Booker. Freshman center Ilona Burgrova added 13 points in the Gamecock win.
“They’re a young group and they should be able to build on this,” South Carolina coach Susan Walvius said. “Now that they’ve got a little taste of success, that should give them some confidence to finish.”
The news wasn’t all good for the Gamecocks, who lost their leading scorer in the win. Sophomore Lauren Simms went down with a right knee injury, initially diagnosed as a sprain. She will reevaluated later in the week to determine her status for the SEC Tournament.
Top Tigers
LSU (25-1, 11-0) continued its undefeated run through the SEC season by squeaking out a 62-57 win at Auburn (14-11) on Sunday. Junior star Seimone Augustus scored 22 points, including two free throws with six seconds remaining, to hold off Auburn’s comeback from 14 points down.
The game marked the second time this season that Auburn put a scare into LSU. In their first game, in Baton Rouge, Auburn fell by a 57-52 margin. AU is the only team in SEC play that has lost by less than 10 to LSU.
“I think what you saw were two of the top defensive teams in the conference going at it,” LSU coach Pokey Chatman said. “I don’t think it was a fluke in Baton Rouge; I don’t think it was a fluke tonight.”
Showdown in Athens
When Ole Miss surprised Georgia with a 72-61 loss on Sunday, it sent the race for the No. 3 seed in next week’s SEC tournament into extra innings. Georgia (20-7, 9-4) is now in a dead heat with Vanderbilt (19-6, 8-4) for the spot behind probable top-seed LSU and No. 2 Tennessee.
The loss for the Lady Bulldogs, despite 18 points from freshman forward Tasha Humphrey, ended a four-game winning streak.
Vanderbilt used 23 points from sophomore forward Carla Thomas and 21 points and 10 rebounds from senior forward Ashley Earley to hold on in a 76-69 win over Florida on Sunday. With the Commodores’ win and Georgia’s loss, the winner of next Sunday’s contest between the two teams at Georgia will probably determine the seeding for the tournament.
Streakin’
Senior guard Tan White scored 23 points on 10 of 19 shooting in Mississippi State’s 71-55 win over Kentucky on Sunday.
The point total marked the 36th straight game where White has scored in double figures. That streak dates back to an 80-53 loss at Auburn on Jan. 21, 2004.
“I’ll be glad when I can watch her in the WNBA,” Kentucky coach Mickie DeMoss said. “She is quite a player. You know she can take over a game when she puts it on her shoulders.”
White is a leading candidate for All-America honors and the SEC Player of the Year award, which will be announced next week.
