Lady Cougars lead crowd of contenders

Tony Ammann
Sports Editor

As the 1999-2000 regular season comes closer to an end, the race for second place in the Great Lakes Valley Conference has only just begun.

The SIUE women's basketball team is now tied for the No. 2 spot in the conference after losing at Lewis University on Thursday and winning at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday.

Lewis guard Kellie Harmas scored 16 points against SIUE Thursday, leading the Flyers to a 72-62 win. Lewis went 21-for-29 from the free-throw line in the second half. Harmas went 9-for-11 from the line in the game and played 38 minutes.

The Flyers (10-6) out-rebounded the Lady Cougars 47-32. All nine players who played in the game for Lewis pulled down at least two boards, including a team-high nine rebounds by center Joy Rauch.

SIUE head coach Wendy Hedberg thought the Flyers' dominance on the boards was the difference in the game.

"We were giving them too many opportunities to score," Hedberg said. "We haven't had that happen to us in awhile. We were just very flat and weren't playing as a team."

Misi Clark led the Lady Cougars with 15 points despite shooting just 6-for-24 from the field. Clark and forward Jill Johnson tied for the team lead in rebounds with seven.

Lewis guard Carey Jewell had a solid game with 14 points, five rebounds and four steals. Jewell now ranks third in the GLVC in scoring at 19.8 points per game and leads the conference with 80 steals.

The Lady Cougars got right back on track Saturday by defeating Wisconsin-Parkside 67-44 in Kenosha, Wis. The Rangers shot just 31.5 percent from the field, including an 8-for-28 debacle in the second half.

"They're not a really good shooting team so we played the zone (defense) most of the night," Hedberg said. "For the most part, I thought we played pretty well."

Hedberg also had her team press the Rangers in the beginning of the game, which led to 31 Parkside turnovers.

Ranger center Yasmina Radmanovich recorded a double-double, pulling down 10 boards and scoring a team-high 16 points. Janda Schaeffer led Wisconsin-Parkside with 13 rebounds.

Clark led the way for the Lady Cougars, matching her total from Thursday with 15 points. Clark also tied her career high in steals with seven, a feat she has now accomplished four times. Forward Sarah Sollberger chipped in with 10 points and Johnson grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Lady Cougars also got some help off the bench. Kristi Eller and Sarah Larson each scored eight points and Crystal Gladson added six off the bench for SIUE.

"Kristi has been giving us some really good time," Hedberg said. "I think Larson has accepted her role as a freshman and is getting some quality time and making the most of it."

SIUE will take its winning momentum into Evansville, Ind., Tuesday for a matchup with the University of Southern Indiana. The Screaming Eagles are 9-6 in the conference, just one game back of the Lady Cougars after winning two games over the weekend.

The Eagles beat the Lady Cougars 74-69 on Dec. 11 at the Vadalabene Center despite a 27-point performance by Clark. USI had four players score in double digits, including 19 by Mindy Gingerich.

USI ranks dead last in the GLVC in three-point field goal defense, allowing teams to shoot 38.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Hedberg will still go with an attack under the basket on offense rather than shooting the ball from the three-point line.

"I don't think that's really a big part of our game," Hedberg said. "If the shot's there, we'll take it."

SIUE ranks first in the GLVC in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to just 36.3 percent from the field this season.

The Lady Cougars also lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to hit just 30.1 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

The Lady Cougars also lead the GLVC in assist with 340, good for an average of 16.1 per game. Clark is second in the conference in that category, averaging better than five assists per game. Clark is also second in the conference in scoring with 21.2 points per game and steals with 67.

The Lady Cougars will have a shot at taking sole possession of second place in the conference this week. SIUE has won eight of its last 10 games, including three of the last four. SIUE's game against the Eagles begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.