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9 [ Thursday, November 9. 2000 1 The Red a Black
SPORTS
Phillips likely to start for healing Carter
By DARREN EPPS
depps@randb.com
Quincy Carter is going to need
a miracle of A1 Gore-like propor
tions to play Saturday.
Still wearing a soft cast on his
right hand and still standing on
the sideline during practice,
Carter’s chances of playing
against Auburn at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday are “extremely doubt
ful,” according to coach Jim
Donnan. Sophomore Cory
Phillips will likely make his sec
ond start of the season in
Carter’s place.
“Barring a major miracle,
Quincy’s not going to be able to
go,” Donnan said. “Cory has
looked good in practice and he
knows what to do.”
Phillips certainly knew what to
do in his only other career start
— Oct. 21 against Kentucky —
completing 20 of 38 passes for 400
yards and four touchdowns in
Georgia’s 34-30 win. Though
Auburn’s defense shows more
fronts and coverages than the
Wildcats, that one start in
Lexington has given him extra
confidence headed into
Saturday’s contest.
“It really helps a lot that you
know you can go in and win a
football game against another
SEC school,” Phillips said. “I’ve
been preparing all week like I’m
going to start. I mean, it’s impos
sible not to because I’ve prac
ticed with the first team
all week.”
But just as Auburn’s defense is
more complex than what Phillips
saw last time, the environment
will also be more difficult. With a
capacity of more than 85,000,
Jordan-Hare Stadium is one of
the more difficult places to play
in the SEC. ESPN is also broad
casting the game on national
television.
“He’ll be nervous,” quarter
backs coach Todd Donnan said.
“With 85,000 fans there, some
thing is wrong if he’s not. But he
has the maturity to overcome
that.”
Daniels looking to
bring back the spark
Anyone who remembers last
year’s debacle between Georgia
and Auburn probably remembers
the name Ronney Daniels.
Daniels, then a true freshman,
lit up the Bulldog secondary,
catching nine passes for 249
yards, including touchdown
receptions of 59 and 78 yards, the
last of which he celebrated by
dunking the ball through the goal
posts.
But with the emergence of
running back Rudi Johnson, the
Tigers have been keeping the ball
on the ground much more.
The result? Fewer opportuni
ties for Daniels, who is also bat
tling double-teams from oppos
ing secondaries.
“It’s been frustrating,” said
Daniels, who has caught just two
touchdown passes this season.
“Against Georgia, I’ll just go out
there and try to do what I did last
year — make big plays and win
the ball game.”
Even with Daniels’ lower
SPECIAL: The Red a Black
▲ Tim Wansley (2), Jermaine Phillips (5) and the rest of
the Bulldog secondary hope to avoid a repeat of last year
and contain Auburn wide out Ronney Daniels Saturday.
production this season, Donnan
is still wary of the man who led
Auburn to a 38-21 victory
last year.
“He’s tough,” Donnan said.
“I’ve seen teams put two guys on
him, and we’ll put some pressure
on him too.”
Lady Bulldogs slide by Athletes in Action
Bulldogs win final exhibition
By GRAHAM GARRISON
ggarrison@randb.com
The Lady Bulldogs got more
than they bargained for Wednesday
night but still managed to take care
of business with a 74-66 victory over
Athletes In Action.
Lady Bulldog head coach Andy
Landers was left shaking his head
after the game due to a sub-par per
formance by his third-ranked team
compared to its play last week
against Norrkoping.
“There’s no comparison, last
game we played with a lot of inten
sity and we played harder,” Landers
said. “Tonight rarely did we have
five people on the floor who played
hard at the same time.”
That leaves plenty to think about
going into the weekend’s first regu
lar-season game against top-ranked
Connecticut. But that showdown
isn’t the sole reason he’s concerned
— his team hasn’t meshed yet.
“It concerns me everyday,”
Landers said. “It concerns me going
into practice. Basketball is no fun if
you don’t play hard.”
Nothing came easy for the Lady
Bulldogs in the first half. A sluggish
start on the scoreboard with 12-for-
32 shooting kept AIA within striking
distance.
A 5-for-14 performance on the
free-throw line didn’t help matters
either.
With the offense not clicking,
Georgia had to rely more on its full-
court press to force turnovers and
keep the opposition off balance.
Senior forward Deanna Nolan
stepped up with six steals and a
blocked shot in the contest, includ
ing three steals in the first half
Kelly Miller, who recorded 13
points and three assists, nailed a
bucket from the outside mere sec
onds out of halftime,
sparking a Lady Bulldog run that
gave them some breathing room
with an 11-point lead five minutes
into the second half. That lead got
as high as 16 at one point, with
Georgia players finally finding their
mark.
But AIA would not go away. After
chipping away at the Lady Bulldog
lead, a three-pointer by Chantel
Mize closed the gap to 61-58.
Georgia’s Coco Miller, team-leader
with 19 points on the night,
answered with back-to-back scores
to widen the lead, and the full-court
press, so successful in the first half,
disrupted AIA once again to allow
the Lady Bulldogs to finish the
game with an eight point margin.
To pull out a win out against the
Huskies, Landers is hoping his team
can find the passion lacking in
Wednesday’s game. On the player’s
side, Nolan feels it’s going to take a
solid game on both fronts.
“We have to make sure everyone
is in sequence offensively and play
good defense,” Nolan said.
The Lady Bulldogs received
some good news off the court
Wednesday. Three prep players
inked letters-of-intent to play next
season in Athens in the first day of
the NCAA early signing period.
DANIEL HENRY | The Red » Buck
A Deanna Nolan, a senior guard
from Flint, Mich., goes up for a
layup against AIA Wednesday.
Pickens County 6-0 forward
Katie Frye, 6-2 forward Pensacola,
Fla., native Jessica Pierce, and 5-11
guard Whitney Law from Chatfield
High School in Littleton, Colo. All
plan to suit up for the Lady
Bulldogs next Fall.
“These three players possess the
versatility required to play the style
of basketball we enjoy playing,”
Landers said. “Each of them can
play more than one position.”
By JOSH KATZOWITZ
jkatzowit@randb.com
Ezra Williams only scored five points on 1
of 7 shooting in Georgia’s exhibition opener
against Glebal Sports a week ago.
On Wednesday night, the sophomore
from Marietta served notice to his oppo
nents: The rustiness in his game has been
effectively polished.
After sitting out last season, Williams lit
up the California All-Stars for 27 points and
seven assists to lead the Bulldogs to a con
vincing 101-79 win in Georgia’s second and
final exhibition of the season.
“That’s why he’s on scholarship,” said
coach Jim Harrick, whose team shot 54.4
percent from the field and 50 percent from
behind the 3-point line.
“He’s not here to miss the ball. He shot
the ball well, and he scored very easily and
fluidly. When he does that, that makes us
dangerous."
It made guard D.A. Layne dangerous, at
least. The junior from Marietta hit for 19
points and was impressive distributing the
ball, totaling nine assists to just one
turnover. Included among his dishes were
five sweet alley-oops (three to Williams, one
to Adrian Jones and an off-the-backboard
pass to Shon Coleman to fire up the crowd of
2,354) as the Bulldogs recorded 28 assists to
12 turnovers.
“That’s the way we make our hay,”
Harrick said. “That’s something we’ve been
working on. We want (Layne) to get every
body involved.”
And every Bulldog did except Robb
Dryden, who was sidelined with a strained
calf. Freshmen Stephen Thomas and Chris
Daniels looked to be adjusting to the colle
giate game as the pair combined for 14
points and 10 rebounds.
But the biggest surprise in the preseason
thus far has been rookie point guard Rashad
Wright, who had seven points and four
assists in 20 minutes of action.
“I’m getting off to a good start,” said
Wright, who didn’t record any turnovers in
the exhibitions. “I’m just learning the system
and feeling good.”
With 11:35 remaining in the game, howev
er, California was slightly behind 64-58. But
Layne hit two free throws and Williams
scored a layup off his own rebound before
hitting a 3-pointer to get Georgia rolling.
And then with about 7 minutes left in the
game, things got wacky. Former Georgia cen
ter Eric DeYoung, who scored 11 points for
California, got tossed by one of the referees
after he said, as Harrick later put it, “the
magic words.”
From there, Thomas missed a wide-open
breakaway dunk following his only steal of
the game, Layne delivered his final two alley-
oops and walk-on Ryan
Pevey nailed a jumper after an assist from
walk-on Scott Hamilton.
“We executed our offense decently and
played good, solid defense,” Harrick said.
‘(The All-Stars) were a lot better than the
team we played last week. We played a lot
better too.”
Indeed, former St. John’s guard Chudney
Gray led California with 19 points, former
Georgia Tech guard Drew Barry — who
drew the nastiest reception of the night —
scored 11 and former Bulldog Derrick Dukes
recorded two points and two rebounds.
But a night after the All-Stars destroyed
Georgia Tech 107-86, the Bulldogs held them
in check.
“We just need to keep working hard in
practice,” Wright said. “We’re getting the
team chemistry down. It’ll all come together
when we go out (in the season opener).”
Nguyen dominates ITA Regional
Georgia tennis player Anne
Nguyen took a step closer to one
of the Spring’s most important
tournaments with a win in the
ITA South Regionals yesterday.
Nguyen was named co-champion
with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 win over
Auburn’s Andrea Piski in
Atlanta.
Nguyen rode a 4-0 streak in
the tournament that included
wins over three ranked oppo
nents.
Bulldog coach Jeff Wallace
said his player’s game has taken
a jump.
“She played brilliant,” Wallace
said. “And it’s exciting to have a
player win this tournament two
years in a row.”
Last year, Georgia’s Lori Grey
won the ITA Regional. In 1998,
Marissa Catlin advanced to the
semifinal round in Athens before
falling to Florida’s Baili Camino.
Nguyen, a sophomore from
Lancaster, Pa., is currently
ranked 81st nationally. She has
no previous draw experience in
grand slam events.
In 1999, Nyugen played in the
qualifying rounds for the
National Clay Courts, All-
American Championships and
the ITA South Regionals.
An All-SEC selection last year,
Nyugen finished the season 34-9,
with a record of 20-1 in the No. 6
singles slot.
With her win on Wednesday,
Nguyen qualified for the Rolex
National Indoors Tournament on
Feb. 1-4 in Dallas. The winner
and finalist of that tournament
will then advance to the national
playoff.
After the opening rounds of
the ITA South Regionals in
Mobile, Ala., coaches from
Georgia and Auburn decided to
meet in Atlanta for the semifinals
and finals.
Nguyen will join either Jessica
Lehnoff or Lindsay Dawaf in the
National Indoors tournament.
Both play for the University of
Florida.
The Lady Bulldogs will begin
their Spring season in January.
— Will Kiser
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FILE | The Red a Black
A Anne Nguyen, a sopho
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