Sports Briefs

By Staff
Jones Junior College plans pep rally
ELLISVILLE After defeating Copiah-Lincoln 7-3 on Thursday night, Jones Junior College finished its regular football season with eight consecutive wins and earned a spot in the MACJC playoffs.
JCJC Students and the public are invited to help get the football team fired up at a pep rally and bonfire on Thursday at 6 p.m. by the JCJC Soccer Field. JCJC will host Northwest Community College in first-round action Saturday at 2 p.m.
The winner of this game will play the winner of the Mississippi Delta-East Central game to determine the State Champion.
MSU rolls to 110-89 exhibition victory
STARKVILLE With six players scoring in double figures, the Mississippi State Bulldogs opened their 2001-02 preseason basketball slate with a 110-89 exhibition victory over the Branch West Basketball Academy of California Saturday evening on the MSU campus.
With 11 players contributing to the balanced scoring attack, the Bulldogs increased their 13-point (57-44) halftime advantage to 26 points on a couple of occasions in the second stanza before settling with the 21-point victory.
Junior forward Michal Ignerski, a third-team all-American at Eastern Oklahoma State College a year ago, paced the Bulldogs with 16 points on 7-of-9 field-goal shooting. The Lublin, Poland native also grabbed eight rebounds in 20 minutes of action for the winners. Junior Derrick Zimmerman and sophomore Mario Austin added 14 points apiece, while senior Marckell Patterson contributed 13 points and seven rebounds to the winning effort. Freshmen Marcus Campbell and Winsome Frazier added 12 and 11 points, respectively, to round out MSU's double-digit scorers.
The Bulldogs close out preseason exhibition competition by playing host to the Birmingham Bullets of England next Saturday, Nov. 10. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Humphrey Coliseum, and there will be no charge for admission. Mississippi State opens the 2001-02 regular season with a three-game home stand, taking on Nicholls State (Nov. 17), Florida A&M (Nov. 19) and Arkansas-Little Rock (Nov. 21) within a five-day span to open the season.
UWA drops volleyball match to West Florida
PENSACOLA, Fla. The University of West Alabama volleyball team lost to West Florida 3-1 (30-27, 30-32, 32-30, 30-26) over the weekend. Despite the loss, however, West Alabama will advance to the Gulf South Conference Tournament Friday and Saturday. The event will be held at Henderson State University, and match times are yet to be determined.
The loss drops UWA's record to 22-16 overall (7-9 in GSC). The Tigers wrap up the regular season with a non-conference matchup with Martin Methodist at Pruitt Hall on Monday. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
USM women host exhibition game tonight
HATTIESBURG The Southern Miss Lady Eagle basketball team will showcase its talent in an exhibition game, tonight at 7 against an NWBL Elite team, in Reed Green Coliseum. Admission is free, but those attending can make a donation of .25 cents at the door, with all proceeds going to the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
Eleven teams that played in either the NCAA Tournament or the WNIT last season and two regular season tournaments highlight the 2001-02 schedule.
The Lady Eagles will be tested early, facing the national runner-up Purdue and NCAA "Sweet 16" participant Texas Tech. In addition to C-USA rivals Tulane (NCAA), UAB (WNIT final four), Louisville (NCAA) and Memphis (WNIT), the Lady Eagles will square off against SEC member Kentucky in its nonconference slate.
Southern Miss opens the regular season Nov. 16, hosting South Alabama before traveling to Samford (Nov. 20) and Purdue (Nov. 25).
MSU's Van Zandt takes SEC soccer honors
STARKVILLE After playing key roles in overtime victories over Ole Miss and Memphis over the weekend, Mississippi State freshman forward Amy Van Zandt was named as the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
Van Zandt fired off eight shots, scored a goal and tallied the game-winning assist in State's double-overtime victory over Ole Miss that clinched MSU's first-ever SEC Western Division title. Sunday afternoon against Memphis, Van Zandt continued her explosion, taking an MSU single game record 10 shots, netting her second hat trick of the season (three goals) and, again, assisting on the gamewinner for the Bulldogs.
The SEC Player of the Week honor marks the first for the program since former goalkeeper Jennifer Croisant collected the award in 1996.
Van Zandt and the Mississippi State soccer team (13-7) will be in action again on Thursday when the team makes its first appearance in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Baton Rouge, La. State is scheduled to play cross-state rival Ole Miss (9-9-1) in the tournament's opening round. Game time is set for 5 p.m. under the lights of the LSU Soccer Complex. For ticket information, contact the LSU Ticket Office at (225) 578-2184.