December 16, 1998
NATIONAL RANKINGS – The Lady Tigers are ranked 12th in the USA Today poll and 14th in the Associated Press rankings as released December 14.
CLEMSON’S RECORD – Clemson is 8-0 this season after a 88-60 win over Dartmouth on December 14. Clemson is 2-0 in the ACC and 6-0 at home this season.
THE SERIES – This will be the 44th meeting between Clemson and South Carolina on the basketball court. The Lady Tigers lead the overall series, 25-18. Clemson has won the last three games in a row, and has won four of the last five games between the two schools. Head Coach Jim Davis is 9-6 against the Gamecocks in his career. Clemson’s current senior class could become the first Lady Tiger class to go undefeated against the Gamecocks.
CLEMSON LADY TIGERS, 8-0 Overall, 2-0 in the ACC Forward – #24 Nikki Blassingame, 6-3, SR, 12.1 ppg., 7.3 rpg. Forward – #50 Natasha Anderson, 6-2, SR, 13.9 ppg., 5.8 rpg. Center – #22 Erin Batth, 6-4, SO, 8.1 ppg., 6.4 rpg. Guard – #25 Itoro Umoh, 5-7, SR, 12.6 ppg., 4.4 rpg. Guard – #33 Amy Geren, 5-11, SR, 13.8 ppg., 3.8 rpg.
Head Coach Jim Davis–241-110 at Clemson, 260-118 career.
The Series with LSU – Clemson will play Louisiana State on December 20, at Myrtle Beach, SC. This will be the second meeting between Clemson and LSU on the basketball court. Clemson won the only meeting between the two schools 69-66 on November 26, 1989 in the Bowling Green Invitational, in Bowling Green, KY.
Lady Tigers Defeats Dartmouth – Clemson gained its 19th straight home court victory over two seasons in defeating Dartmouth College 88-60 Monday, December 14, at Littlejohn Coliseum. The 12th-ranked Lady Tigers improved to 8-0 with the victory, while Dartmouth fell to 2-5. The school record 19-game home winning streak by Clemson ranks eighth best in the country among current home streaks.
Amy Geren led Clemson with 17 points, thanks in part to four three-point goals, while classmate Natasha Anderson added 16 points on 8-11 shooting. Nikki Blassingame added a double-11, 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Itoro Umoh had seven points and a game high eight assists. Joanie Mungro led the Clemson reserves with nine points.
Dartmouth was led by Courtney Banghart with 16 points, while Liz Martin had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Banghart had five three-point goals in the game.
Clemson shot 53 percent from the field for the game and won the battle of the boards, 46-33. The Lady Tigers had outstanding teamwork, picking up 25 assists against just 12 turnovers as a team. Clemson held Dartmouth to just 34 percent shooting for the game.
Clemson and Dartmouth battled on nearly even terms for the first 13 minutes of the game. Clemson held just a 25-19 advantage after Banghart hit a three-point goal for Dartmouth. But, Clemson went on 15-6 run to close the half. Amy Geren had five points and Natasha Anderson had four in the streak.
Clemson went on a 17-9 run to open the second half in the first seven and a half minutes. Amirah Leonard scored five points in that streak in a reserve role for Jim Daviss team.
Dartmouth reduced that 23-point lead to 15 with 8:30 left, but Geren continued to hit outside shots over the last five minutes to put the game out of reach. Clemsons largest lead was a 29-point margin with 16 seconds left.
Clemson Downs Maryland by Record Margin – Nikki Blassingame scored 16 of her game high 18 points in the first half, leading 24th-ranked Clemson to an 89-48 victory over Maryland in womens college basketball action Saturday, December 6, at Littlejohn Coliseum. Clemson improved to 7-0 overall and 2-0 in the ACC with the victory, while Maryland fell to 0-6 and 0-1.
It was the 18th straight victory for Clemson in Littlejohn Coliseum, establishing a school record for consecutive home wins. It was also the largest margin of victory for Clemson over Maryland. The previous best was just 22 points in a 73-51 Clemson victory last season.
It also tied for the worst margin of defeat for Maryland in an ACC game. The Terps lost by 41 points to NC State in 1995-96. The victory also gave Clemson four straight wins over Maryland, the first time in the history of the series that Clemson has claimed four straight over Maryland.
Clemson dominated Maryland with a balanced attack. All 12 Clemson players scored, all 12 played at least 10 minutes, and 11 of the 12 had a rebound. Blassingame led all Clemson scorers with 18 points on 9-13 field goals, and she added nine rebounds. Natasha Anderson added 13 points, five assists and five steals, while Amy Geren scored 11 on 5-7 shooting. Itoro Umoh added eight points and seven assists.
Nuria Forns led the Clemson bench contributors with 10 points, while Amirah Leonard had four points and six steals. Joanie Mungro had just two points, but had seven rebounds.
Maryland was led by Branka Bogunovic and Marche Strickland, who had 14 points apiece. Ginji Perry added nine points, six assists and four steals.
Clemson won the rebound battle 43-34 and forced 33 turnovers. Clemsons defense had 19 steals and the Tigers scored 31 points off turnovers.
Clemson exploded to a 20-2 lead to open the game. Blassingame scored eight of those 20 points. Maryland cut the margin to 29-15 with 7:16 left in the half, but the Tigers went on an 11-0 run to make it 40-17 with 3:11 to go in the first half. The Tigers held a 48-21 lead at intermission.
Clemson was never threatened in the second half. Clemsons largest lead was the final score, as Clemson ended the game with an 8-0 run. Coach Jim Davis substituted often in the second half and no Clemson player saw more than 26 minutes of action.
Clemson Downs NC State – Itoro Umoh and Natasha Anderson combined for 47 points, leading 25th-ranked Clemson to 88-67 victory over 17th ranked NC State on Wednesday, December 2, at Littlejohn Coliseum. It was Clemsons largest margin of victory over NC State since the 1990-91 season when Clemson won 73-40 in Clemson.
Umoh had a season high 27 points and added 10 assists for her first double double of the year in just 32 minutes. She made 9-10 free throws. Anderson hit for 20 points on 8-14 shooting. Nikki Blassingame added 15 points on 6-9 shooting and had eight rebounds. State was led by Summer Erb with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Tynesha Lewis added 17, including 3-4 on three-point goals.
Clemson jumped out to a 20 point lead in the first half behind the play of Umoh and Anderson, who combined for 30 points in the first half. The Tigers shot 45 percent from the field, but Anderson and Umoh were 11-19 between them. Anderson scored repeatedly on the inside and also hit 4-4 from the foul line.
The Tigers put the game away in the first three minutes of the second half with a 10-2 spurt to open the half. Umoh had six straight points and her drive and score gave Clemson a 52-24 advantage. Clemson extended the lead to 32 points in the second half, at 82-50 before coasting to the 21-point victory.
Clemson shot 47.5 percent for the game, but State hit just 37.3 percent. The Tigers won the battle of the boards, 43-36.
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 WINS 250th CAREER GAME – Clemson Head Coach Jim Davis won his 250th game with a 85-68 win over Florida State on February 27, 1998. During his NCAA Division I career, he has a 260-118 record. He has a 241-110 record at Clemson after 11 seasons. 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 Natasha Anderson with a 13.9 ppg. average. Nikki Blassingame leads the team in rebounding with a 7.3 rpg. average. Itoro Umoh has 58 assists, and 15 steals to lead the team.
CLEMSON PLAYERS NAMED ALL – ACCClemson womens 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.
LADY TIGERS WON 12TH ACC GAME – Clemson won 12 ACC regular season games in the 1997-98 season. This broke the school record for most ACC wins in a single season by Clemson. The 1994 team had 11 ACC victories. The Lady Tigers won their 12th ACC game this season with an 89-58 win over Georgia Tech on February 22.
CLEMSONS 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 DEFEATED THREE TOP-10 TEAMS IN 1997-98 – -With the 68-58 win over N.C. State on February 7, Clemson defeated three top-10 teams in 1997-98. Clemson defeated fifth-ranked North Carolina 77-63 on January 2. On January 5, Clemson defeated ninth-ranked Virginia 74-67. This was the first time in the schools history that the Lady Tigers have defeated two top-10 teams in consecutive games. The North Carolina and Virginia games were 72 hours apart.
CLEMSONS 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.
CLEMSONS DEFENSE – Under Coach Jim Davis, the Clemson Lady Tigers have held opponents to 50 points or less 48 times and have never allowed an opponent to reach the 100-point plateau. All 48 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 245-70 record when playing in Littlejohn Coliseum for a .774 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 19 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 womens 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 Clemsons career leader for best free throw percentage with an .844 mark. During her career she is 238-282 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 (160).
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- 101 433 160
UMOH AND GEREN MOVING UP CAREER SCORING CHART – Itoro Umoh is 13th on the Clemson career list for most points scored with 1,111. Amy Geren has 1,080 points and is 15th 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 127010. Louise Greenwood 4 1985-89 112 11.3 126811. Cissy Bristol 5 1977-82 104 11.8 122912. Peggy Caple 4 1981-85 119 9.9 117313. Itoro Umoh 3+ 1995- 102 10.9 111114. Laura Cottrell 4 1993-97 119 9.3 110815. Amy Geren 3+ 1995- 101 10.7 1080
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 241 victories. He is also fourth for most victories in ACC games with 102. 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).
CLEMSON TOUGH AT HOME IN 1997-98- Clemson had a 13-0 record at home during the 1997-98 season. The Lady Tigers also averaged 2,504 fans per each game. The 13 wins set a school record for the first undefeated season at home. Clemson had 9,000 fans at the Duke game on 1-9-80. This is the fifth most fans ever to see a game in ACC history.
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 217 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 ONeal 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- 102 2.13 217
ITORO UMOH IS ONE OF CLEMSONS BEST ALL-TIME PLAY MAKERS – Itoro Umoh is eighth on the Clemson career list for most assists with 335. She has averaged 3.28 assists per game during her career. This season she has had at least five assists in ever game. She had 10 assists in the N.C. State game on December 2 for her season high. Umoh is averaging 7.3 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 1983-85, 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+ 1995-98 102 3.28 335
LADY TIGER RANKINGS IN 1998-99
AP USA TodayPreseason NR NRNov. 16 NR NRNov. 23 NR NRNov. 30 25 24Dec. 7 15 14Dec. 14 14 12
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. Anderson leads the team with a 13.9 ppg. average, while Geren has scored 13.8 ppg. this season. Umoh has 12. 6 ppg. average, while Blassingame has a 12.1 ppg. average. Ironically all four players are seniors and have played in at least 100 games each during their respective careers.
PLAYING TIME FOR EVERYONE – Clemson has eight players who are averaging in double figures in minutes played this season. Itoro Umoh leads the team in minutes played with a 28.8 minutes per game average.
CLEMSON OFF TO A GREAT START – Clemson has a 8-0 record to start the 1998-99 season. This is the second 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 THREE GAMES THIS SEASON – The Lady Tigers have shot 50% from the field in three 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.
LADY TIGERS SHOOTING .417 FROM THREE-POINT LINE – Clemson has shot 40% or better from the three point lin in six games this season. This year Clemson is 30-72 from the three point line for a .417 figure.
LADY TIGERS WINNING THE BATTLE OF THE BOARDS – Clemson has outrebounded its opponents in seven of the eight games this season. Clemson has outrebounded its opponents by a 12.3 margin this season.
CLEMSON SHOOTING .468 FROM THE FIELD – Clemson is shooting 250-534 from the field for a .468 figure. The Lady Tigers have five players who are shooting 50% or better from the floor. Natasha Anderson (.540), Amy Geren (.536), Nikki Blassingame (.554), Erin Batth (.500), and Nuria Forns (.519) are all shooting over 50% from the field.
UMOH HAS A 3.4 ASSIST-TURNOVER RATIO – Clemson’s Itoro Umoh has a 3.4 assist-turnover ratio. This season she has 58 assists compared to 17 turnovers this season. As a team, Clemson is averaging 19.1 assists per game compared to 14.8 turnovers per contest.
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS – Clemson’s game vs. LSU will be the last game for the Lady Tigers before Christmas break. Clemson is 9-1 under Head Coach Jim Davis in the last game before the Christmas break. Clemson is 116-38 over the years when playing in the month of December, including a 32-9 record when playing at a neutral site.
Clemson will play LSU at Myrtle Beach, SC Sunday afternoon. Last year at Myrtle Beach, Clemson defeated New Orleans 101-58.
April 18, 2024
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