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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1998)
The Battalion •esday • March 3, 1998 ridappy Different styles, same results riding Team leadership graduates with Tinder ei dor Larry Thompson erves student respect 3 i lame it on the herd of chanting students. Blame it on Brian Skinner’s ca- woist performance against Aggies, blame El|Niho. whatever an, the s | A&M ’s Basket- 11 Team fig- 1 out how put one i y on Sat- iy. reshman . aael nidi was hero, but there was a smaller, e discrete storyline hidden jUntthe aging walls of G. Rollie ite Coliseum. Senior Larry tmpson went out with a win. ,’he Saturday line forThompson ■ unimpressive as he scored four Uslon two field goals. Once in he struggled from the foul missing all three of his at- ipts and then fouled out with 1 tolgo in the game. But the im- tant line from Saturday’s contest mged to Brian Skinner. Skinner red bnly six points, 12 points un- his season average, and was a i-factor because of Thompson’s ippreciated defensive work, de had a highlight block on one ior player, putting the ball in the d row of the stands. He also did dirty work down low. Offen- dy, one of his pair of field goals s spectacular. L.T. threw down a mderous, in-your-face dunk on 3 poor defender. Although he ght not have had the flashiest ne in the world, he had his mo ons which he made the most of. tin his past two years in an Ag- uniform, L.T. has been called to guard the premiere big-men the Big 12, and time after time puts on a demonstration of grit d effort that is an example of iat Coach Tony Barone has ced of him. Every time a mock eer rises from the crowd at a ide free throw, Larry smiles, ten one of his layups misses the irk, he doesn’t pout to the offi- 1, he puts his head down and rinrs to the other end of the )r, intent on making up for his stake. And when Thompson lied his fifth foul with just un- three minutes to go in the ie, his teammates surrounded with hugs. The Twelfth Man rwed its appreciation with their mts of “Lar-RY, Lar-RY.” In that moment, all of the barbs . critics must have sounded far ay. Thompson is what college >ketball needs. He is due to iduate in August; he hustles on court; he is polite off the court; shared his last game with G. Hie and Coach Barone, and he both of them proud. Mrry, I guess we’ll have to miss >se free throws without you next ir. Good luck. —Jeff Webb is a junior Journalism major. By Philip W. Peter Staff writer From the beginning of collegiate basketball, teams have looked to their seniors for leadership. They can lead by making exceptional plays or by verbally motivating their teammates. Sometimes, they can choose to lead in their own qui et way. According to Texas A&M Women’s Basketball Coach Candi Harvey, that is exactly the case with senior center Kim Linder. “Kim has been a lone senior on a very young team,” Harvey said. “But in her own way, she has tried to lead and for Kim that means leading by example. She’s not a big talk er, but she has come out and worked hard and played with a lot of yWt in . juries. Throughout her career, Linder has been hindered by recurrent foot injuries. Her freshman year it was a stress fracture, then her sophomore year was relatively healthy. But her junior year she missed three games because of ill ness and a broken foot. Her senior season was going well until the last week in January when chasing a loose ball in practice cost her three games with another foot fracture. Linder said she is happy that she will not have to worry about any more injuries. “It’s a relief,” Linder said. “Right now, I’m playing on a fractured foot and that’s one thing I won’t miss. Maybe after a month off I’ll heal every thing back up and be back to normal. But I’m the type that likes to work out and I’m afraid that when I’m done (with basketball), that I won’t have the same work ethic that I had before.” Harvey said that Linder’s work ethic is not something that can be easily influenced. “She’s a small kid that has had to play in the post,” Harvey said. “But the thing that has stood out Please see Linder on Page 8 Sharpshooter Yates takes aim at Texas A&M record books By Jeff Schmidt Staff writer Despite being one of the nicest and most amiable people off the court, Amy Yates is a predator on it. The type of predator who shoots first and asks ques tions later. The type of predator that gets the job done no matter the cost or the aesthetic beauty of it. She plays every possession as if it is her last. But ask Yates what she does well on the court and she tells you what she needs work on. “I don’t think my game is complete,” Yates said. “I could be a better passer and rebounder. However, I think I shoot the ball well. That’s my best aspect.” Yates, only a sophomore, is already an A&M legend. She was recently named to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team. Although hampered by a recent mild slump, she has shot and made more three-point bas kets than anyone in A&M his tory except Lisa Branch (1991-1995). Yates is cur rently second in the Big 12 I Conference in three- % pointers per game (2.4) and total three-pointers (63). Yates’ 63 three-pointers this season sur passed her school-record 55 of last season. She also is second in A&M histo ry in career free-throw percentage behind Branch. Yates is among the top free-throw shooters in the con ference, shooting about 86 percent. Coach Candi Harvey said she has been impressed with Yates’ ability. “Amy is a pure shooter. I think she proved that she can shoot with anyone in the coun try,” Harvey said. Sophomore forward Prissy Sharpe said she thinks Yates’ outside shooting creates a balance that A&M can exploit. f*" “She brings a three-point threat, which opens up the inside game,” Sharpe said. Although the Aggies lost to Baylor 91-76 on Sat urday, Yates is pleased with the team’s effort. “Our team’s been peaking at the right time. I think people realize how well we’re playing. The Big 12 Tourna ment is up for grabs,” Yates said. “In practice, we’ve been so focused. Our energy level is there. Once you start get ting a taste of what win ning’s about you become more focused.” Winning only four confer ence games probably comes as a shock to Yates. At Cle burne High School, she teamed with her cousin, Kim Lummus, now playing at the University of Texas, to lead their team to a 117-26 record and a state title. After graduating, Yates came to A&M as part of the Ag gies’ own “Fab-Five” recruiting class. Yates, Sharpe, Kera Alexander, Jennifer Burrows and Natalie Tticker (who has since transferred) made up that recruiting class. Harvey said she feels that Yates has enhanced her game in her two years at A&M. “Amy’s much improved — defensively, offensively and in all aspects of the game, especially defensively,” Harvey said. “Obviously she’s a great three-point shooter, but I think the other areas of her game have improved too. She’s just going to be a kid that gets bet ter and better, and I don’t think that’s very good news for people in the Big 12.” PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAKE SCHRICKLING March Madness begins with women’s Big 12 Tournament Michael Taglienti sportswriter I t is that time of year again, when dreams are realized and upsets are the norm. It is March Madness, and bas ketball teams across the country are preparing for their conference tournaments. The Big 12 is one of the most competitive basketball confer ences in the country and features some of the nation’s best teams. These teams will be on display this week in the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri. The tournament runs today through Saturday and will determine the Big 12’s automatic qual ifier to the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 can be broken down into four distinct groups of teams. There are the in-teams, the bubble teams, the sleepers and the rest. The Shoe-Ins Texas Tech (22-4,15-1) Texas Tech is far and away the best team in the Big 12. Tech is the favorite to win the Big 12 tournament and has a legiti mate shot at making the Final Four. Texas Tech has the league’s best defense, allowing just under 60 points per game, and leads the Big 12 in margin of victory, beating its opponents by an average of 18 points per game. Tech is led by All-American post Alicia Thompson who leads the Big 12 in scoring with 24.3 points per game. Thompson will probably win the Big 12 player of the year award and is one of the most dominant play ers in the Big 12’s young history. Tech will play the winner of the Colorado, Oklahoma game in the second round. Iowa State (23-6,12-4) Iowa State comes into the tournament following a 68-60 loss to Nebraska, but remains the only Big 12 team to beat Texas Tech. ISU is led by the long-range shooting of Stacy Frese who averages 17 points per game and hit an ISU record seven three-pointers in the win at Texas Tech earlier in the year: If Frese gets hot again, ISU could upset Tech in the tour nament. ISU will play the winner of the Texas A&M, Texas game in the second round. Nebraska (22-8,11 -5) Nebraska enters the tournament coming off a big win over Iowa State Nebraska leads the Big 12 in scoring averaging at just under 80 points per game. Nebraska’s high-octane offense is dependent on the guard play of Anna DeForge and Nicole Ku- bik. DeForge leads the Big 12 in three-point shooting, hitting 43 percent of her attempts, and is third in scoring at 21.3 points per game. Kubik keys Nebraska’s defense and leads the Big 12 with 3.2 steals per game. The Huskers will play the winner of the Oklahoma State, Missouri game in the second round. On The Bubble Kansas (19-7,11-5) At 19-7, KU is probably in the NCAAs, but a win in the con ference tournament would ensure it. KU is led by the inside scoring of Nikki White who averages 14 points per game and ranks third in the Big 12 in blocks with 1.1 per game. White and forward Lynn Pride helped KU lead tire Big 12 in blocks with 4.5 per game. KU will play the winner of the Baylor, Kansas State game in the second round. Oklahoma State (17-9,10-6) Oklahoma State enters the tournament coming off of a blowout 69-52 win over rival Oklahoma. OSU beats teams with its stifling defense, allowing its opposition just under 60 points per game on 37-percent shooting. OSU, like Baylor, needs to do well in the tournament if they want a shot at the NCAAs. If they do not win a tournament game, they will like ly be invited to the NWIT. Fifth-seeded OSU will play 12th- seeded Missouri in the first round. Baylor (17-9,10-6) Baylor is coming off a 91 -76 victory over Texas A&M. Bay lor features one of the most balanced offenses in the Big 12 and is led by the inside-outside combination of Lara Webb and Kacie Moffitt. Webb averages 18.3 points and 4.5 assists per game and Moffitt averages 15.7 points per game, using her 6-foot-4-inch frame to pull down 6.9 rebounds and block 1.1 shots per game. Baylor is a disciplined team that leads the conference in turnover margin, forcing almost six more turnovers than its opponent per game. Baylor needs to win at least one tournament game if it wants to go to the NCAAs. It has shown steady improvement throughout the season and could make a run at Texas Tech. Sixth-seeded Baylor will play 1 Ith-seeded Kansas State in the first round. The Sleeper Texas (12-14, 7-9) Although only 12-14, Texas remains a dangerous team. The Longhorns are led by 6-foot-4-inch center Angela Jackson who averages 18.7 points per game and leads the Big 12 in field-goal percentage, hitting 63 percent of her shots. Jackson has shown the ability to score on anyone she faces. The ques tion for the Longhorns is whether anyone else will step up and help out Jackson. If Texas gets hot from the outside, it could win the tournament. Seventh-seeded Texas will play 10th- seeded Texas A&M in the first round. Because They Have To Play Colorado (11-15,5-11) Colorado lost its two leading scorers from last year’s NCAA Tournament team and has never recovered. It is hard to win If the Aggies play their game and utilize their quickness at the guard position, they can win a few games in the tournament. games when you cannot score and CU has had trouble scor ing all year long. Colorado ranks second to last in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging just over 58 points per game, and sec ond to last in field-goal percentage, hitting 38 percent of their attempts. CU has a young team and will use this experience to improve for next year. Eighth-seeded Colorado will play ninth-seeded Oklahoma in the first round. Kansas State (10-16,4-12) Kansas State is the only team that CU fans can point to and smile. KSU is last in the conference in scoring, averaging 56 points per game while hitting 37 percent of its attempts from I the floor. KSU is led by center Angie Finkes’ 14 points per ) game. Eleventh-seeded KSU will play sixth-seeded Baylor in ! the first round. Please see Taglienti on Page 8. Hopes Creek Music presents Haywood m-i. * Saturday, March 7th w/special guest leclamation >5 Cover >oors Open at 8 Drink Specials 8-10pm Jhow Starts 9 pm Sharp [8 & Up Northgate • 846-4440 WORK FOR THE PREMIER RESORT OF THE TEXAS GULF COAST Play on our sandy beaches... 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