Lady Mountaineers drop their third straight 97-69 to GSU 
Chris Boyce Varsity Sports 

A three game slide was not what the Appalachian State University women’s basketball team needed going into the last part of the season, but that is what they got. 

The Georgia Southern University Lady Eagles used a record-breaking performance by sophomore Alie Rousseau to defeat Appalachian State 97-69 in a game played Tuesday night at Hanner Fieldhouse in Statesboro, Ga. 

The Mountaineers had hoped to use a Georgia Southern victory to gain much needed momentum going into the stretch, with the Southern Conference tournament quickly approaching.  

With only five games remaining, two of which are home matches, the Apps will probably need to win out the rest of their games if they hope to get a favorable seed in the tournament, which begins March 2. 

Rousseau set a new Georgia Southern record and tied the Southern Conference record by connecting on eight of her nine attempts from beyond the three-point arc. 

The sophomore finished with a career high 26 points to lead four Lady Eagles in double figures and her eight threes broke the old Georgia Southern record of six, which was held by six different players. 

Tondra Warren added 16 points for the Lady Eagles while Danna Simpson and Tiffany Lanier both scored 10 points. Lanier’s 10 points was a career high. She also set a career rebound high with seven. Mimi Lindsey tied her career high in rebounds with 12. 

Peak performances for the Mountaineers in the losing effort came from Jamie Gagliano and her 14 points along with her team-high 10 rebounds. Karma Edwards and Tiffany Chappell both chipped in 11 points. 

The first half was a closely played affair as neither team opened up a lead of more than seven points. Appalachian State (6-7,10-12) claimed its only lead of the game just six minutes into the game on back to back jumpers by Natasha Lettsome and Tiffany Johnson. 

The Eagles went on to score the next nine points to claim an 18-12 lead and Georgia Southern boasted a 39-32 lead at the end of the first half. 

Georgia Southern (7-6, 8-14) was red hot from the field in the second half, connecting on 53.8 percent of its shots, including eight of 10 three-pointers. 

Rousseau led the charge as she scored 21 of her points during the final 20 minutes. The Lady Eagles also dominated the boards in the second half as they outrebounded the Mountaineers 29-19. By the end of the game Georgia Southern had connected on 51.5 percent of its shots and 13 of 16 three-pointers, falling one short of the Southern Conference record of 14 three pointers made by a team in a single game. 

The Lady Eagles host their third straight Southern Conference opponent Saturday, Feb. 12, when they face East Tennessee State at 7 p.m. 

The Mountaineers hope to end their losing streak on Saturday, returning home to face Furman at 1 p.m. in Varsity Gym. 

Streak still plagues Ladies 
Mike Boteilho Managing Editor 

OK, so now it maybe time to panic. As the Lady Mountaineers stumbled to their 97-69 loss to Georgia Southern, they may have just stumbled into the play-in game for the Southern Conference tournament. 

With only two home games left in the regular season, Appalachian must try to find a way to win on the road. 

A main reason for this slide is the three-point barrage that teams go on when they play them. 

Before the UTC contest, Appalachian was cruising along on a four game winning streak, until the Lady Mocs tied a league record  in three-point field goals. 

That luck that the Lady Mocs displayed against the Lady Mountaineers behind the arc has been passed along to UNCG, and most recently to Georgia Southern, as a team ranked seventh in the league in three-point shooting shot 81.2 percent. 

Now two things could possibly be said at this point in the season; either App needs to go out and guard the three, or their time in the sun is coming. 

When Appalachian ran off four in a row, they came back from huge deficits to win the game, but lately that has not been happening. But times will change, mainly because this is Southern Conference basketball, and no team is clearly superior than the other. 

There is no reason to sound the alarms yet, because with two wins against Furman and ETSU on Saturday and Monday, the Lady Mountaineers will be right back in a favorable playoff seeding. And hopefully contending for the tournament title again. 

Southern Confrence Coming down to the wire 
Anthony Holderied Varsity Sports 

It was no magic act that the College of Charleston put on Appalachian State Saturday in Charleston.  After all, the Cougars have never lost to the Mountaineers in Southern Conference men’s basketball before. 

In fact, the only magic performed Saturday was by the Citadel Bulldogs, who knocked off Davidson 87-74. 

The loss for the Wildcats dropped Davidson to 6-4 in the North, three games behind division leader ASU, at 9-1 after the loss to Charleston.  This means that if Davidson wins its remaining five games, then Appalachian must win three of its last six to take their third straight title. 

While the remaining schedules for both teams give no advantage to either, Appalachian has not lost to any of the opponents left on their schedule this season. 

Davidson will face East Tennessee State, Western Carolina, Appalachian, VMI and close with Georgia Southern.  The teams have a combined conference record of 25-29. 

The Mountaineers have Wofford, VMI, Davidson, Western and two meetings with Greensboro remaining for a combined mark of 27-36. 

In the North Divsion, Greensboro and East Tennessee are just a step behind Davidson, each with 5-5 conference records.  This could still pose a problem for App if things fall the right way, but that is not likely. 

In the South Division, Charleston looks to clean up down the stretch for the second straight season, but faces a bigger challenge with counterparts Georgia Southern and Wofford creeping up, both with 7-4 conference records. 

The Cougars, at 9-2, lead by two games but still have to face the Eagles and the Mocs.  Wofford has Appalachian, Chattanooga, Georgia Southern and East Tennessee, all of which are teams with winning marks.  Georgia Southern still has to tangle with College of Charleston, Davidson and Wofford.  Chattanooga is basically out of the picture with a 5-6 record after dropping two straight games to Furman and Georgia Southern. The advantage for Appalachian is that two out of the next three games will be played at Varsity Gym.  If the Apps can knock off Wofford and Davidson in those games, they will capture the crown. The Mountaineers began that quest on Saturday against Wofford at 3:30 p.m. 

NFL Loses another great player  
Brian Meadows Club Sports 

Kansas City linebacker Derrick Thomas died of a heart attack Tuesday, in a hospital where he was being treated for injuries from a car crash that left him paralyzed from the chest down. 

Thomas was being transported from his bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital by virtue of a wheelchair to therapy, when he went into cardio-respiratory arrest. 

Efforts to resuscitate the nine-time Pro Bowl player failed. 

Thomas, 33, was pronounced dead at 10:10 a.m. EST. 

Doctors have not yet determined what caused the heart attack, however, there is reason to believe that a massive blood clot may have killed Thomas, according to a statement releasesd to ESPN by Dr. Barth Green, professor and chairman of the department of neurosurgery at Jackson Memorial. 

Thomas was brought to the world’s largest spinal cord injury research center because he broke his spine and neck in the Jan. 23 car crash. He was heading to the Kansas City airport with two companions to fly to St. Louis for the NFC title game. Thomas was airlifted to Miami for surgery and rehabilitation. Doctors decompressed his spinal cord and stabilized the spinal column with screws, rods and hooks and implanted bone grafts from Thomas’ hip. 

Though still in critical condition, rehabilitation looked promising for Thomas. 

Following his All-American career at Alabama, the 6-foot-3-inch, 255 pound Thomas made a quick impact at the professional level after he was drafted in the first round of the 1989 draft. 

Thomas averaged 58 tackles a year during his 11 seasons with the Chiefs. He als holds the NFL single-game record of seven sacks and ranks ninth on the career list with 126.5. 

NFL commisioner, Pual Tagliabue issued this statement to ESPN: “The entire National Football League family is deeply saddened today by the death of Derrick Thomas. Derrick’s immense talent on the football field was matched by his caring and generous spirit in the Kansas City community. As both a football player and an individual, Derrick Thomas leaves a tremendously positive legacy that will permanently enrich everyone whose life he touched.” 

Thomas, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, touched a few quarterback lives the hard way. 

John Elway, former quarterback of the Denver Broncos  was one of them. “He epitomized the heart, courage and spirit it takes to be an outstanding player,” Elway told ESPN. 
 
 

 Return To Top