Newspaper Page Text
Wednesday
Feb S' 5 '
Ninth in a row puts Braves in GSC tournament
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Photo courtesy of UWG Communications unil Marketing
Natasha Liggins played a big part In the Braves' wins over the
Tigers and Blazers The senior scored 28 points on the week.
Remaining Schedule
Date: Opponent: Time:
Feb. 18 UAH 5:30 PM
Feb. 20 N. ALABAMA 5:30 PM
Feb. 25 @LMU 6:00 PM
Braves hold off Tigers,
get clobbered by Blazers
By James Robinson
Staff Writer
jrobinsß@my.westga.edu
With the Braves
fighting for a conference
tournament berth, every
win takes on a greater
importance. Last week, the
Braves were able to defeat
West Alabama on Monday,
but they could not find an
answer for a strong Blazer
offense on Saturday.
On Monday, the
Braves played well inside
the paint posting 42
rebounds on the night
en route to a 79-76 win
over the Tigers from West
Alabama.
West Alabama started
the scoring with a 4-0
lead that would eventually
become a 14-6 lead. The
Braves did not lose focus
as they went on a 14-2 run
over the next six minutes
of the first period, which
began with a jumper from
senior standout Michael
Ford and a trey from Sam
Winter Olympics Update
Medal Count (as of 2/14)
Country
Norway 1 3 4 8
United States 3 2 0 5
Russia 2 2 15
Netherlands 12 0 3
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Richardson. The final
minutes of the first period
were close, but the Braves
managed to hold on to a
33-30 lead at the half.
In the second half, the
Braves did not look back
and maintained the lead
for the rest of the night.
West Georgia played good
team ball as four Braves
finished with double
figures in scoring.
Ford led the way with
21 points. Jonathan Smith
dropped 19 from the field
and tossed out eight assists,
while Chris Burras put up
16 points and nine boards.
Antonio Shaw finished
with 15 on the night.
On Saturday night
the Valdosta State Blazers
came out with too much
ammunition for the Braves.
The match up was close in
the first half with the Braves
only trailing by three at the
break after a buzzer beater
from Valdosta’s Will
Thompson.
The Blazers took
Gold
Silver
By James Robinson
Staff Writer
jrobin.sß@my.westga.edu
Sometimes, going on a
streak can be a really good
thing. It can also be areally
bad thing sometimes. For
head coach Craig Roden
and the Braves, it’s a very
good thing.
The Braves have
proven to be one of the top
teams in the Gulf South
Conference as they came
away with two remarkable
victories last week against
the West Alabama Tigers and
the Valdosta State Blazers
to extend their season long
w inning streak to nine.
Monday night's 68-
61 w in over West Alabama
gave Roden his longest
w in streak since he arrived
in Carrollton in 1996.
The Braves did not
appear to be prepared for
the Tigers in the opening
minutes of Monday’s
game as West Alabama
jumped out on top with
quick 5-0 lead.
West Alabama played
competitive basketball for
forty straight minutes and
kept the lead for all but two
minutes of the match.
West Georgia seemed
to be dragging behind the
entire first period as they
trailed 20-9 until a key
rebound from junior Kim
Bass would give the Braves
control in the second half,
building their lead to as
much as twenty.
The Braves shot
below 30 percent from
the field and the defense
allowed five Blazers to
shoot for double-figures
on the night.
Valdosta State was
simply the better team on
the night, and the Blazers
walked away with a big
103-72 win.
It was not all bad news
for the Braves. Burras put
up 21 points and pulled
down 11 boards to get his
sixth double-double of the
year and tenth in his career
at West Georgia.
The Braves fall to
16-7 on the year and drop
to 5-5 in the Gulf South
Conference.
West Georgia is still
in third place in the GSC
east. They remain tied
with Valdosta State and
North Alabama. The top
four teams advance to the
conference tournament.
Total
Bronze
some momentum. West
Georgia fought back, and
the Tigers only held a slim
30-24 lead at the break.
West Georgia would
use that same momentum
in the second half to take
control of the game.
After a trey from All-
American candidate Tai
Ellis and a basket from
Natasha Liggins early in
the half, the Braves jumped
into the driver’s seat.
After several lead
changes early, Liggins
took over midway
through the second half.
She scored all 15 of her
points and finished a
perfect 6-6 from the free
throw line to demontrate a
clutch performance
"We did not play
our best game, but [we|
managed to come out
with a victory tonight,”
said Roden.
The ball was spread
around well Monday night
as four players scored
in double figures, led by
Ellis with 16 followed by
Liggins with 15. Erica
McCoy had a big night,
finishing with 12 points
and 11 rebounds to post
her third career double
double. Yvonne Killings
added 11 on the night.
Saturday night was a
bittersweet victory for the
Braves as they took down
in-state rival Valdosta
Intramural Results
Men’s Basketball
Tuesday, February 7
Sigma Nu 59, Vikings 52
The Tresquad 53, Little Giants 32
Blue Beavers 45, Jackrabbits 33
The Tresquad 78, Vikings 36
Wednesday, February 8
Untouchables 67, Kappa Alpha 46
Trendsetters 86, CRO’s 62
Untouchables 1, Pi Kappa Raiders 0 (forfeit)
The Roc 88, Dirty Gorrilas 51
Kappa Alpha 47, Pigs 40
Trendsetters 89, Dirty Gorrilas 52
Thursday, February 9
Cool Breeze 52, Z-6’ers 46
WUS 73, Last Minute 47
Football Guys 62, Gators 46
Phi Kappa Phi 73, PIKE 37
BSU Wings 40, Chi Phi 29
Delta Chi 47, Free Agents 37
Cool Breeze 50, Last Minute 42
Women’s Basketball
Monday, February 6
Phi Mu 39, Alpha Xi Delta 8
Fast Break 30, Locos 25
All Americans 39, Alpha Gamma Delta 27
Alpha Gamma Delta 47, Alpha Xi Delta 6
Will it be II in a row for
the Women’s Basketball team?
Saturday 5:30 p.m.
vs. Alabama-Huntsville
HPE Building
State on the road. Coach
Roden and his troops
marched into an unfriendly
Valdosta State gym to send
a message to West Florida,
the number one team in the
GSC East.
Ellis led the Braves
in the first period with
10 points. The Blazers
put up a tough fight
and continued to battle
back and forth with West
Georgia for the lead. But
it was Ellis who showed
up in the final seconds to
connect at the free throw'
line to take the Braves into
the lockers with a slim
one-point lead.
Neither team took
over in the second half.
Both squads continued to
duke it out for the lead.
With 46 seconds
left, the Blazers missed
some key shots and the
braves held on to a 56-
53 advantage. With time
running out, Valdosta State
was forced to send Ellis to
the line. The senior put
the game out of reach, as
she hit both shots to give
West Georgia the 58-53
win. With the victory, the
Braves clinched a spot in
the GSC tournament.
Ellis was the leading
scorer with 22 points
followed by Killings with
13. The Braves are now' at
16-7 on the season and 9-1
in the conference.
Inside
the
Numbers:
The Braves’ shooting
percentage in the second
half of Monday night’s
game against West
Alabama (17-27).
4L
Number of Braves that
finished with double
digit point totals on
Monday night (Ellis,
Liggins, McCoy, Kill
ings).
223
Lai Ellis’ scoring aver
age. She currently
leads the conference (as
of 2/6).
The average attendance
for Braves home games
this year (currently
worst in the GSC).