Sophomore Deanna Copeland goes up for a basket in the heartbreaker against The Apprentice School Jan. 24. SCAD lost their second-half lead in the game’s final seconds. Photo by Ben Dashwood

By Michael MacEachern

The Savannah College of Art and Design equestrian program tied for first place Jan. 25 at the University of Florida Intercollegiate Horse Show in Gainesville.

The Bees, who finished second in Jan. 24’s show, increased its lead in the Zone 5, Region 3 team standings to 39 points over second-place College of Charleston. The Bees have accumulated 172 points through five shows. SCAD returns to action Feb. 7 at the Emory University Intercollegiate Horse Show.

The Bees tied with the College of Charleston for first place with 29 points Jan. 25. Class winners for the Bees included Pete Cooney (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter), Thea Lassen (Novice Flat), Hattie Saltonstall (Open Fences) and Katelyn Chitwood (Beginner Walk-Trot-Canter). Haley Hall finished second in both the Intermediate Flat and Fences categories.

SCAD finished two points behind the host school with 38 points Jan. 24. Jordan Siegel was named the High Point Rider while Hall was named the Reserve High Point Rider for the day.

Class winners included Jessica Brown (Open Flat), Siegel (Open Fences), Hall (Intermediate Flat), Danielle Nieldieski (Novice Flat), Karen Carter (Novice Flat B), Lassen (Advanced Walk-Trot-Canter). Second-place finishes for the Bees included Gene Barbara (Walk-Trot), Tara Holst (Walk-Trot), Patty Ormaza (Intermediate Fences), and Siegel (Open Fences).


The Apprentice School rallies past women’s basketball
The Apprentice School fought back from a 15-point deficit in the second half and rallied for a 64-62 decision over the women’s basketball team Jan. 24 at Savannah High School.

The Builders improved to 9-8 while the Bees fell to 6-14. SCAD returns to action Jan. 31 for a noon contest against Rust College at SHS. The men’s team returns from its three-week break with a 2 p.m. contest against Rust that day.

The Bees, who led 29-27 at intermission, took a 44-29 lead on a layup by April Aguilera with 15:00 remaining to cap a 15-2 run to start the second half. The Bees were 7-of-10 from the field during that stretch while the Builders went 1-of-5 and were guilty of six turnovers.

The Apprentice School settled down and scored six unanswered points in one stretch to cut the lead by the Bees down to four points (50-46) with 6:44 to play. SCAD responded with two free throws and a three-pointer by Nicole Moody to stretch its lead back to nine (55-46) with 5:21 remaining. The Builders then outscored the Bees 15-6 to tie the game at 61 with 2:01 left.
After swapping turnovers, the Builders took a 63-61 lead with 1:01 remaining.

The Bees had two chances to tie the game in the final minute. Moody missed both ends of two free throws while Aguilera hit one of two chances to cut the margin to one point (63-62) with 9.4 seconds left. SCAD, which shot 67 percent as a team from the free throw line entering the game, went 10-of-23 from the charity stripe.

Mary Louden added some insurance for The Apprentice School as she made one of two free throws with 2.2 seconds left to give the Builders a 64-62 lead. SCAD had one last opportunity to win or tie the game, but Moody’s shot from the left corner fell short as time expired.

Moody, who is the all-time scorer in SCAD history with 987 points, led the Bees with 17 points. Jen Hamilton tied her career-high with 16 points as she went 4-of-5 from three-point distance. Beth Henson added 10 points and five steals while Aguilera added 10 rebounds.


Men’s basketball sponsors fund-raiser
The men’s basketball team is selling portable chairs as a fund-raiser. The chairs, which come with a carrying bag, are black with the SCAD logo on it and also have a cup holder.

The chairs are just $20 for one or $35 for two and can be purchased from assistant men’s basketball coach Rod Echols in Habersham Hall or from any men’s basketball player. For more information, contact Echols by phone at 525-4807 or by e-mail at rechols@scad.edu.

MacEachern is the SCAD sports information director.