The Campus Chronicle

Volume 3, No. 5
December 6, 2002

SCAD junior Lilly deSousa in the Open Equitation Over Fences competition Nov. 23 in Charleston. SCAD won the team title at the College of Charleston Intercollegiate Horse Show.
Photo by Wayne C. Moore

Equestrian program wins second show of the season

By Michael MacEachern

The Savannah College of Art and Design equestrian program captured its second title of the young season Nov. 23 as the Bees won the College of Charleston Intercollegiate Horse Show at Storybook Farms.

SCAD, which won the Georgia Southern University Intercollegiate Horse Show in October, edged the University of Florida by two points (30-28) to capture its latest title. The Bees, who won seven events Nov. 23, remain in the lead in the season-to-date Zone 5, Region 3 standings ahead of Florida and the College of Charleston.

Ashley Kelly earned High Point Rider honors for the Bees as she won her section of Open Equitation on the Flat as well as the Novice Equitation over Fences. Jessie Lambert also finished tied for Reserve High Point Rider honors after finishing second in both the Novice Equitation on the Flat and the Novice Equitation over Fences competitions.

Jordan Siegel won her section of Open Equitation on the Flat for the Bees. Other winners from SCAD were Patty Ormaza (Intermediate Equitation on the Flat), Larissa Carpenter (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter), Carissa Fiora (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter) and Ben Mathis (Walk-Trot).

In the Open Equitation on the Flat, SCAD dominated the class. Besides Kelly’s victory, SCAD took the next three spots. Ansley Grainger finished second followed by Corrine Grealish and Lilly deSousa. Kristina Ahearn finished third in the Novice Equitation on the Flat.

There were 11 schools competing at the event. Besides SCAD, Florida and the College of Charleston, the other teams included Florida State University, Rollins College, University of Miami, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Georgia State University and Wesleyan College.

SCAD returns to action Dec. 7-8 when it hosts the SCAD Intercollegiate Horse Show at the SCAD Equestrian Center, located off Dean Forest Road. Action gets underway each day at 9 a.m.

Men’s basketball captures Maryville Tournament
Most Valuable Player Labeeb Abdullah scored six of his game-high 21 points in overtime as the Savannah College of Art and Design men’s basketball team upset defending NCAA Division III champion Otterbein College 76-72 Dec. 1 in the championship game of the 2002 Maryville Invitational Tournament in Maryville, Tenn.

SCAD improved to 3-0 and gave head coach Cazzie Russell his 100th collegiate coaching victory. Russell has a career record of 100-54 in his seven seasons with the Bees. Otterbein, which is ranked No. 10 in the preseason d3hoops.com poll, fell to 2-2.

Abdullah’s three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation tied the game at 64 and sent the game into the extra period. In overtime, two costly turnovers by the Cardinals and a Paul Otim dunk sealed the victory for SCAD. Besides Abdullah, Keith Davis was named to the All-Tournament for the Bees as he scored 19 points. Otim also contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds for SCAD.

The Bees reached the title game by rallying from an eight-point halftime deficit and limited Maryville College to four second-half baskets as the Bees defeated the Scots 64-59 Nov. 30.

Maryville took a 38-26 lead at the half as they scored 14 points off 11 turnovers by the Bees. The Scots also outscored SCAD 12-2 in second-chance points in the opening 20 minutes.

The second half was a different story as the Bees turned over the ball just five times and held Maryville to 18.2 percent (4-of-22) shooting in the final 20 minutes, including 0-12 from long distance.

SCAD had four players in double figures. Davis led all Bees with 16 points and 13 rebounds while Abdullah tossed in 14 from the perimeter. Adams and Paul Otim contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively. The Bees opened the 2002-03 season as they rallied from as many as nine points down in the first half to defeat Huntingdon College 65-62 Nov. 27 in Montgomery, Ala.

Huntingdon used an 11-2 run to take a 17-8 lead on a tip-in by Allen White, who had a team-high 19 points, with 11:42 remaining in the first half. SCAD rallied over the next six minutes to tie the score at 20 on a jumper by Otim with 5:56 remaining. The lead seesawed back and forth the rest of the half as the Hawks took a 30-28 lead at the half.

The Hawks started the second half as they did the first half as they jumped out to a seven-point lead (39-32) on a 3-point shot by Gemayel Marshall with 17:33 remaining. SCAD again rallied to tie the score at 39 on an Otim dunk with 14:45 left.

Huntingdon took its final lead of the game on a tip-in by White to give the Hawks a 49-48 lead, but the Bees took the lead for good (51-49) with 7:46 remaining on a 3-pointer by Adams. SCAD built its lead to many as eight points (62-54) on a dunk by Davis, who led all scorers with 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Adams added 16 points for the Bees while Abdullah chipped in 10 points and six assists.

Women’s basketball picks up first win of season
The women’s basketball team had four players in double figures as defeated Huntingdon College 78-72 Nov. 30 at the 2002 Kiwanis Classic hosted by Maryville College.

The Bees picked up their first win in four chances this season while the Night Hawks remained winless in four opportunities. SCAD returns to action Dec. 4 with a 6 p.m. game at Centre College in Danville, Ky.

The Bees, who have shot less than 35 percent in their three losses this season, shot 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the floor, including 48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the first half.

The Night Hawks took their biggest lead of the game at 17-10 with 10:35 left in the first half on a jumper by Terrell Womack, who finished with 17 points. SCAD used a 14-5 run over the next five minutes to take a 24-22 lead on a Laura Hagwood jumper with 7:20 left. Huntingdon fought back and retook the lead for the final time at 34-33 on a jumper by Lasheta Newton with 2:34 left before the Bees scored 11 of the first half’s final 12 points to take a 44-35 halftime lead.

The Bees took their biggest lead of the game (15 points) on a jumper by Nicole Moody with 10:40 remaining in the contest. However, the Night Hawks battled and got as close as four points (74-70) on a Newton free throw with 18 seconds left. SCAD, which hit all 20 free throws they attempted, sealed the game from the free throw line as Monique Lewis and Laura Hagwood each hit two free throws in the final 20 seconds.

Becki Tower led the Bees with 19 points while Moody added 14. Hagwood contributed 12 points for SCAD while Rachel Breiner added 11. Lewis led the Bees with 10 rebounds.

Junior guard Hayley Smith continued her hot hand against the Bees Nov. 29 as she scored 35 points as the Lady Scots defeated the Bees 85-67 in the first round of the 2002 Kiwanis Classic.

The Lady Scots took a 47-37 lead at the half as Smith scored 21 points and Maryville shot 57.7 percent (17-of-30) from the floor, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from long distance. Although Maryville cooled off shooting in the second half, the Bees couldn’t make a dent as they shot 22.9 percent (8-of-35) from the floor in the final 20 minutes.

SCAD had a trio of players reach double figures with Monique Lewis leading the way with 17 points. Tower added 11 points while Deanna Copeland had 10.

The Bees opened the season with two losses in Conway, Ark., Nov. 22-23 at the Hendrix Tip-Off Classic.

The Hendrix College women’s basketball team defeated SCAD 89-54 Nov. 23.

The Bees only shot 32.2 percent (19-of-59) from the field in the game, including just 28.6 percent (8-for-28) in the game’s first 20 minutes as Hendrix led 44-18 at halftime.

Hagwood, who was 9-for-9 from the charity stripe, was the only player in double figures for the Bees with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Breiner added nine points while Lewis and Tower each scored eight.

Rhodes College opened the 2002 Hendrix College Tip-Off Classic with a 77-69 victory over SCAD Nov. 22.

Lewis, who was 8-of-9 from the free throw line, led SCAD with 17 points and five assists. Kerise Delcoure (13), Tower (11), and Hagwood (10) were all in double digits for the Bees.

Jessica Clark named to region honorable mention team
SCAD volleyball player Jessica Clark has been named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s NCAA Division III All-South Region Honorable Mention Team.

Clark, a 6-foot-0 senior middle blocker from Kingwood, Texas, led the Bees this season with a .334 hitting percentage and 131 total blocks. Clark, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in her final regular-season match Nov. 1 against Emory University, was second on the team in kills (387) and fourth in digs (156). Clark, who was named to the All-South Region team last season, became SCAD’s first player to register 1,000 kills in her career and finished with 1,258.

SCAD finished the 2002 season at 23-13 after advancing to the second round of the 2002 NCAA Division III Champion-ship. It was the sixth time in the past seven years that SCAD had made the playoffs.

MacEachern is the SCAD sports information director.