January 1, 1999
PROBABLE LINEUPCLEMSON LADY TIGERS, 11-0 Overall, 2-0 in the ACC Forward–#24 Nikki Blassingame, 6-3, SR, 10.6 ppg., 7.0 rpg. Forward–#50 Natasha Anderson, 6-2, SR, 12.8 ppg., 5.7 rpg. Center–#22 Erin Batth, 6-4, SO, 7.6 ppg., 6.8 rpg. Guard–#25 Itoro Umoh, 5-7, SR, 11.8 ppg., 4.3 rpg., 6.7 apg. Guard–#33 Amy Geren, 5-11, SR, 16.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg. Head Coach Jim Davis–244-110 at Clemson, 263-118 career.
UPCOMING ACTION
Jan. 2 (Sat.) Virginia 7:00 p.m.Jan. 4 (Mon.) at North Carolina 7:00 p.m. (ACC-TV)Jan. 7 (Thurs.) Florida State 7:00 p.m.
NATIONAL RANKINGS-The Lady Tigers are ranked 10th in both the USA Today poll and Associated Press rankings as released December 28th. This ties the school record for the highest ranking in the regular season by a Lady Tiger team.
CLEMSON’S RECORD–Clemson is 11-0 this season after a 59-42 win over UNC-Greensboro on December 30. The Lady Tigers tied the school record for the best undefeated start in the school’s history with the victory over UNC-Greensboro.
THE SERIES-This will be the 46th meeting between Clemson and Virginia on the basketball court. The Cavaliers lead the series 24-21. However, Clemson has won six of the last eight meetings between the two schools. This will also be the 51st meeting between Clemson and North Carolina. The Tar Heels lead the overall series 28-22.
Geren Scores 21 to Lead #10 Clemson to Victory–Amy Geren scored 17 of her game high 21 points in the first half and led 10th ranked Clemson to a 59-42 victory over UNC Greensboro Wednesday, December 30, at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum. The Lady Tigers improved to 11-0 with the victory, while UNC Greensboro fell to 8-4.
The 11-0 start for Clemson ties the school record for consecutive wins at the beginning of the season. It was also the 20th straight home win for Jim Davis’s team over two years, a school record and the sixth longest homecourt winning streak in the nation.
Geren got untracked and the Lady Tigers went on a 13-5 run to take a 23-15 lead at the 6:55 mark. Geren hit two three-pointers to give Clemson a 29-21 lead with 1:37 left in the half. The native of Tennessee was 5-10 from long range in the first half.
Clemson went on a 12-2 run over the first 6:30 of the second half to put the game out of reach. It was 46-27 when Itoro Umoh scored a pair of free throws. Clemson expanded the lead to 54-28 on a jumper by Amirah Leonard with 8:21 to go. That was Clemson’s largest lead of the game.
Greensboro did not give up and cut the margin to 55-40 with two minutes left, but could get no closer.
Clemson used a strong defense throughout in gaining the victory. Greensboro shot just 13-55 from the field for the game, 23.6 percent. Clemson blocked 13 shots defensively, second highest figure in school history. The Tigers also had 12 steals and forced 20 turnovers.
It was another balanced effort as 11 of the 13 Lady Tigers scored and all 13 had at least on rebounds. Geren was the only Clemson player in double figures as far as scoring. Nikki Blassingame scored eight and had six rebounds and three blocks. Natasha Anderson had an interesting stat line: 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, four blocks and four steals.
Greensboro was led in scoring by Katie Del Campo, who had a career high 15 points and added six rebounds and three steals. Clemson Downs LSU, 60-58–Itoro Umoh scored the game winner with 3.1 seconds remaining and Amy Geren scored a career high 29 points, leading Clemson to a 60-58 women’s basketball victory over LSU on Sunday, December 20. The contest was the second game of the ACC/SEC Doubleheader at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. North Carolina downed Alabama in the first game.
The victory was Clemson’s third this year against the SEC. Clemson defeated Mississippi and South Carolina earlier this year. All three wins have been on the road. Clemson’s senior class of four starters are now 8-1 against SEC teams in their careers.
Geren led Clemson in scoring with 29 points, breaking her career high by one point. It was the second straight game she had led the Lady Tigers in scoring. She had 26 points in Clemson’s victory over South Carolina.
The native of Cleveland, TN was 7-10 from the field and 15-18 from the foul line. Her 15 made free throws were the third most in Clemson history for any Lady Tiger, most since 1985-86 when Melinda Ashworth had 18 against Virginia.
Umoh supported Geren with 10 points, six assists and three steals, including the game winner. Natasha Anderson scored nine points and had seven rebounds. LSU was led by April Brown, who had 18 points. Katrina Hibbert and Marie Ferdinand added 12 apiece.
Clemson shot 50 percent from the field for the game, including 61 percent (11-18) n the second half. Geren made 15 of Clemson’s 16 free throws in the contest. Both teams had 29 rebounds and both teams had 18 turnovers.
The Clemson Lady Tigers took a 13-4 lead to open the game before LSU called timeout. But the LSU Lady Tigers made good use of the timeout and went on a 16-4 run to take a 20-17 advantage. LSU held a 30-26 lead at intermission and increased the margin to 41-30 in the first seven minutes of the second half. A pair of three-point goals by Hibbert were the keys to the streak.
CLEMSON DEFEATS SOUTH CAROLINA–Amy Geren scored 26 points as 14th-ranked Clemson beat South Carolina 84-67 Thursday, December 17.
Geren shot 4-for-7 on 3-pointers as the Lady Tigers broke open a tight game with an early 8-0 run. Clemson made 81 percent (26-for-32) of their free throws and outrebounded South Carolina 45-32.
“Anytime you can get a win over your in-state rival, you cherish it,” Clemson coach Jim Davis said. “I didn’t think we were on our ‘A’ game tonight. Their defense did a great job of taking us out of our offense.”
The Lady Gamecocks (6-2) got 10 points and 10 rebounds from Annie Lester. Lisa Williams and Jocelyn Penn added 14 points apiece.
Clemson’s Natasha Anderson had 17 points, while Erin Batth added nine points and 10 rebounds. Clemson led 36-22 at halftime.
PRESEASON HONORS–Clemson’s Itoro Umoh is one of the pre-season Naismith Award Candidates. Teammate Amy Geren is a preseason All-America candidate as selected by Street and Smith’s Magazine.
HEAD COACH JIM DAVIS APPROACHING 250 WINS AT CLEMSON–Head Coach Jim Davis has a 244-110 record at Clemson as he is in his 12th season. During his NCAA Division I career, he has a 263-118 record. Davis spent one season, 1986-87, at Middle Tennessee State and compiled a 19-8 record with the Lady Raiders that season.
LADY TIGER LEADERS-Clemson is led in scoring by Amy Geren with a 16.9 ppg. average. Nikki Blassingame leads the team in rebounding with a 7.0 rpg. average. Itoro Umoh has 74 assists to lead the team. Natasha Anderson leads the team in steals with 21.
CLEMSON PLAYERS NAMED ALL-ACC – Clemson women’s basketball players Amy Geren and Itoro Umoh were named All-Atlantic Coast Conference as announced by the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association in 1997-98. Geren was named to the first team, while Umoh was named to the second team.
CLEMSON HEAD COACH JIM DAVIS WON 100TH ACC GAME – Clemson Head Coach Jim Davis won his 100th career regular season Atlantic Coast Conference game, (not including ACC Tournament games) with the 64-41 win over Wake Forest on February 15, 1998. Currently, Davis has a 103-67 record against ACC foes during the regular season. He is the fourth winningest coach in the history of the ACC with the 103 victories.
CLEMSON’S JIM DAVIS IS 8-4 IN OVERTIME GAMES DURING HIS CAREER – Head Coach Jim Davis is now 8-4 in overtime games during his career at Clemson. He has also guided the Lady Tigers to five straight wins in overtime games.
CLEMSON’S RECORD VS. RANKED TEAMS – Coach Jim Davis has defeated 37 top 25 teams since his arrival at Clemson in the 1987-88 season. At Littlejohn Coliseum, he has a 25-16 record vs. Associated Press Top 25 teams. This season he is 1-0 vs. top 25 teams.
CLEMSON’S DEFENSE – Under Coach Jim Davis, the Clemson Lady Tigers have held opponents to 50 points or less 49 times and have never allowed an opponent to reach the 100-point plateau. All 49 games have resulted in Lady Tiger victories. The Lady Tigers have only been held to 50 points or less twice during Davis’ tenure.
FIRST HOME GAME RECORD – Clemson now has a 21-3 record over the years when playing its first home game of the season. The Lady Tigers also have a 18-6 record over the years in season-opening games.
ALL-TIME HOME RECORD – Clemson has a 246-70 record when playing in Littlejohn Coliseum for a .778 mark. In 1997-98, the Lady Tigers had a 13-0 record at Littlejohn Coliseum. This was the first time in history the Lady Tigers had finished a season undefeated at home. Clemson has now won 20 games in a row in Littlejohn Coliseum and set the school record for most consecutive home wins. The previous school record of 17 consecutive home wins started on February 1, 1979, and ended on February 16, 1980.
100% GRADUATION RATE — Since the beginning of the women’s basketball program at Clemson in 1975-76, 100% of the players staying for four years have graduated.
GEREN IS CAREER LEADER FOR BEST FREE THROW PCT.– Amy Geren is Clemson’s career leader for best free throw percentage with an .845 mark. During her career she is 257-304 from the free throw line.
THREE-POINT WEAPON – Amy Geren is in third place on the Clemson career list for most three-point field goals scored in a career (169).
CLEMSON’S CAREER LIST FOR MOST 3PT GOALS MADE
Name Yrs Years GP FGA FGM 1. Tara Saunooke 4 1991-95 121 586 252 2. Kerry Boyatt 4 1989-93 121 450 178 3. Amy Geren 3+ 1995- 104 452 169
UMOH AND GEREN MOVING UP CAREER SCORING CHART– Amy Geren is in 13th place on the Clemson career list for most points scored with 1,156. Itoro Umoh has 1,140 points and is 14th on the Clemson career list for most points scored.
POINTS SCORED
Rk. Name Yrs. Years GP Avg. Points 1. Barbara Kennedy 4 1978-82 127 24.5 3113 2. Janet Knight 4 1982-86 114 15.7 1795 3. Shandy Bryan 4 1989-93 126 12.9 1631 4. Karen Ann Jenkins 4 1985-89 111 13.6 1514 5. Mary Anne Cubelic 4 1979-83 119 12.6 1501 6. Tara Saunooke 4 1991-95 121 12.1 1462 7. Bobbie Mims 4 1976-80 126 11.5 1448 8. Kerry Boyatt 4 1989-93 121 11.8 1422 9. Donna Forester 2 1976-78 63 20.2 1270 10. Louise Greenwood 4 1985-89 112 11.3 1268 11. Cissy Bristol 5 1977-82 104 11.8 1229 12. Peggy Caple 4 1981-85 119 9.9 1173 13. Amy Geren 3+ 1995- 103 11.0 1156 14. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 104 10.9 1140 15. Laura Cottrell 4 1993-97 119 9.3 1108
DAVIS IS THE FOURTH WINNINGEST COACH IN ACC HISTORY – Head Coach Jim Davis is the fifth all-time winningest coach in the history of the ACC with 244 victories. He is also fourth for most victories in ACC games with 103. He is also the third all-time winningest coach in the ACC by percentage, (.679). Davis is also tied for fourth for the best winning percentage in the ACC Tournament with a .600 figure (15-10).
UMOH IS IN FIFTH PLACE FOR MOST STEALS – Itoro Umoh is in fifth place on the Clemson career list for most steals. Currently she has 221 steals and is also fourth all-time at Clemson for most steals per game with a 2.13 figure.
CLEMSON CAREER STEAL LEADERS
Name Yrs. Years GP S/G Steals 1. Barbara Kennedy 4 1978-82 127 2.57 327 2. Ramona O'Neal 4 1985-89 117 2.44 286 3. Debra Buford 4 1977-81 127 1.88 239 4. Bobbie Mims 4 1976-80 126 1.77 224 5. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 105 2.13 221
ITORO UMOH IS ONE OF CLEMSON’S BEST ALL-TIME PLAY MAKERS – Itoro Umoh is eighth on the Clemson career list for most assists with 351. She has averaged 3.33 assists per game during her career. This season she has had at least five assists in every game. She had 10 assists in the N.C. State game on December 2 for her season high. Umoh is averaging 6.9 assists per game.
CLEMSON CAREER ASSISTS LEADERS
Name Yrs. Years GP A/G Asts 1. Bobbie Mims 4 1976-80 126 4.89 617 2. Melinda Ashworth 4 1982-86 111 4.17 463 3. Susan Fehling 3 83-85,87-88 87 4.72 411 4. Drema Greer 2 1977-79 61 6.54 399 5. Mary Anne Cubelic 4 1979-83 119 3.29 392 6. Jennie Lyerly 4 1978-82 122 3.09 377 7. Dana Puckett 4 1990-94 117 3.18 373 8. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995-98 105 3.33 351
FOUR CLEMSON PLAYERS ARE AVERAGING IN DOUBLE FIGURES–Natasha Anderson, Amy Geren, Itoro Umoh and Nikki Blassingame are all averaging in double figures in scoring. Geren leads the team with a 16.9 ppg. average, while Anderson has scored 12.8 ppg. this season. Umoh has an 11.8 ppg. average, while Blassingame has a 10.6 ppg. average. Ironically all four players are seniors and have played in at least 104 games each during their respective careers.
PLAYING TIME FOR EVERYONE-Clemson has nine players who are averaging in double figures in minutes played this season. Itoro Umoh leads the team in minutes played with a 26.8 minutes per game average.
CLEMSON OFF TO A GREAT START-Clemson has an 11-0 record to start the 1998-99 season. This ties the school record for the best undefeated start ever for the Lady Tigers. The Lady Tigers had an 11-0 record to start the 1995-96 season and set the school record for the best undefeated start.
CLEMSON HAS SHOT 50% IN FOUR GAMES THIS SEASON- The Lady Tigers have shot 50% from the field in four games this season. Clemson shot 55% from the floor against Wofford and 52% from the floor against Maryland on December 5. Against Dartmouth, the Lady Tigers shot .529 from the field. In the win over LSU, Clemson shot 22-44 from the floor for a .500 figure.
LADY TIGERS WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS–Clemson has outrebounded its opponents in eight of the 11 games this season. Clemson has outrebounded its opponents by a 10.9 margin this season.
CLEMSON SHOOTING .457 FROM THE FIELD -Clemson is shooting 321-703 from the field for a .457 figure. The Lady Tigers have three players who are shooting 50% or better from the floor. Natasha Anderson (.509), Amy Geren (.550), and Nikki Blassingame (.575), are all shooting over 50% from the field.
GEREN AND UMOH ARE BOTH 1,000 POINT SCORERS –Amy Geren has scored 1,156 points in her career, while Itoro Umoh has scored 1,140 career points. This is the third time in Clemson history that there has been two 1,000 point scorers in the same class as both Umoh and Geren are both seniors.
SPECIAL SENIOR CLASS–Clemson’s senior class consists of Amy Geren, Itoro Umoh, Natasha Anderson, and Nikki Blassingame. They have become household names and have meant a great deal to the Lady Tiger program. This senior class has scored 3,550 points, and has grabbed 1,486 rebounds. This senior class is also responsible for 702 assists and 415 steals. The 1999 senior class has been to three straight NCAA Tournaments and three straight ACC Tournament Championship games, and won the 1996 ACC Tournament Title.
GEREN HAS SCORED OVER 20 POINTS IN THE LAST THREE GAMES–Amy Geren has scored over 20 points in the last three games. She scored 26 in the South Carolina game on December 17, and 29 in the LSU contest on December 20. On December 30, she scored 21 points against UNC-Greensboro.
ACC LEADERS–Amy Geren leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in free throw pct. with a .851 mark as she has hit 40-47 free throws. She also leads the league in three-point field goal pct. with a .471 figure as she is 24-51 from the three-point line. Itoro Umoh leads the conference in assists as she is averaging 6.7 assists per game.
April 25, 2024
