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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2003)
THE BATlTif, Si. Hoi l imon • THE BATTALION he air. Different groups to see who can build rvey iM, SIMlif e Battalion Classified advertising • Easy • Affordable • Effective information, call *45-0569 Sports The Battalion Page IB • Thursday, February 27, 2003 Aggies knocked off at home by OSU team By Blake Kimzey THE BATTALION The Oklahoma State University Cowgirls had to de-ice their plane before it took off from Stillwater. Okla. on Tuesday night, but the defrosted flight to College Station was worth the trip. On Wednesday night, the Texas A&M women’s basketball team was dominated by the OSU offense to the tune of a 48-68 stomping in front of a sparse crowd at the usually Aggie- friendly Reed Arena. The Aggies were hoping to beat OSU for the first time at home since the 1997 campaign, but history repeated itself as the Cowgirls neutralized the Aggie defense with inspired play. OSU Head Coach Julie Goodenough, in her first season at the helm, was impressed by her squad’s late season offensive execu tion and ability to clean the offensive and defensive glass. “We’ve been saving that up,” Goodenough said. “Our two keys to the game were to come out and control the boards and take care of the ball, and I think our rebounding effort (+11) bal anced out our (20) turnovers.” Going into the half, down 28-23, A&M needed the offensive production of freshman guard Natasha Summerville to keep the-game within reach, who came off the bench to score eight quick points. Aggie Head Coach Peggie Gillom tried to implement a second half press to con trol OSU, but the Cowgirls found a way to easily navigate the outstretched arms of the Aggie defense with crisp passing. “We tried to use the press to get us back in the game in the second half, but we just couldn’t sustain it,” Gillom said. “We kept telling our girls that this game was still reachable, but right now we’re just too banged up.” In fact, despite the Aggie press, OSU came out and hit seven of its first nine shots of the half, including three triples to stretch its lead to 16 within the first five minutes. OSU Head Coach Goodenough praised her players ability to judicious ly dissect the Aggie defense. “Our girls did a good job making decisions,” she said. “Patience has not been our strong suit all year, but tonight our girls pulled the ball out and played smart.” In the end, it was the Aggies contin ued inability to convert on the offensive end that cost them the game. The Cowgirls held junior center Lynn Classen, the Aggies second leading scor er, to just three points for the game, almost seven below her season average. “We just didn't come out to play tonight,” Gillom said. “We’ve been having trouble scoring and we haven’t found someone consistent enough to go to.” To the Aggies credit, their bench managed to outscore the OSU bench by a margin of 21 -0. Up next for the Aggies will be their final home game of the season against Baylor University this Sunday at 2 p.m. AI.T55A HOI.I.TMON • THFBATTATIOfT A&M guard Toccara Williams drives past an Oklahoma State defender. The Aggies lost Wednesday’s game 68-48 at Reed Arena. Williams scored 10 points in the A&M loss. No. 22 A&M visits Austin By Jeff Allen THE BATTALION The No. 22 Texas A&M women’s swimming team will be looking to rebound from last week’s Big 12 Championships held at the University of Texas when it returns to Austin to compete in the Bevo Invitational this weekend. After claiming a fourth consecu tive runner-up finish in the confer ence, the Aggies will head into the event for one last chance at claiming race times capable of propelling themselves into the NCAA Championships to be held on March 20-22 in Auburn, Ala. In the Big 12 meet at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, the Aggies finished second for the fourth year in a row behind the women from UT. The Longhorns claimed their fifth straight Big 12 title. In the process, the Aggies still managed to make one of the best showings in school history, claiming three individual races for the first time under current Head Coach Steve Bultman. “We’re excited about getting sec ond,” Bultman said. “At this point it is as good as we can do. We were closer to them this year than we were last year, and that is what we See Swimming on page 3B Archery team hosts Indoor Championships By Marcus White THE BATTALION Archers from across Texas will storm College Station this weekend as the Texas A&M archery team hosts one of nine events in the 34th National Indoor Target Championships taking place at indoor locations across the United States. The contest will consist of nine regional competitions, after which National Archery Association officials will compile scores and name a winner in both the recurve and com pound disciplines. During the past several years, A&M has quietly developed one of the pre miere archery programs in the nation. Head Coach Kathy Eissinger has led the Aggies to seven consecutive National Championships, including three since the University granted the sport of archery varsity status in 1999. Eissinger has coached Aggie archers to seven individual collegiate national titles for the past three years, including two-time indoor compound champion junior Mary Zorn. Zorn has raised the bar in indoor competition. Last year, she shot a colle giate record 1,171 at the national indoor championships, besting the 1,156 mark she had set at the same competition as a freshman. Zorn’s only indoor rival is fellow Aggie archer sophomore Amber Dawson. Dawson, who finished the 2002 season ranked first in compound shooting in the nation, was the first archer to beat Zorn in collegiate compe tition during last year’s Lone Star FITA in Austin. “I try not to think of it as competing against Mary,” Dawson said. “But we definitely push each other.” As a freshman, Dawson was set to compete in the World Target Championships in Beijing, China, when the Sept. 11 tragedy forced the closing of American airports. “We were on the tarmac in Dallas waiting to leave for Chicago when the captain came on and said there had been a national security breach,” she said. “We were all very frightened.” In the Aggies’ last competition, Dawson won her first-ever indoor colle giate title, capturing the 2003 Texas State Indoor Championship with a 1,153-1,121 victory over freshman See Archery on page 3B tVWJK. OFFslIVtP^JET O 979-822-2222 ♦ Tickets $15 at the door or $12 in ad vance ♦ Advance tickets on sale at Cavenders f Baskins, and the Hall ♦ $1.50 chuggers and $2.50 pitchers! Doors open early at 7 p.m. to premiere the new Cory Morrow DVD called “Full Exposure”! rTtuiMGSOONTOTHEHN+j 'S’ ^ \ J .L^rrrrr, ♦ The Bellamy Brothers ♦ Gary Stewart ♦ ♦ Mark David Manders ♦ The Texas Hall of Fame encourages you to drink responsibly and always designate a driver. Free soft drinks to designated drivers over 21. x , - ^ . . : Vu * 'l *’ 5 ‘ f • * . . ! 17 l v_ •-'<s •• ■ L 'oting sites: vote.tamu. MSC, Student Rec Center, Blocker, West Campus Library and Evans Library 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. SPORTS recsperts. fomt/. edu