Sports

Royals torpedo Mariners |

Hamish Knox. ,

 

Last Friday night, the wom-
en's basketball team solidified
its grip on first place in the
BCCAA and laid claim to the-
number one spot in the
country by knocking off the
Malaspina Mariners.

Douglas started out the
game by forcing a turnover
and feeding the ball to Carrie
Rogers for a 3 pointer. The
Royals quickly built a lead
behind their vaunted press,
which kept them in the game
when its offense slowed
down.

Coach Richard Williams
substituted freely in the first
five minutes of the game,
giving his bench players
much needed experience
against a team which he
described as “very tough,
they don't make a lot of
mistakes.” Malaspina’s mental
toughness stood out through-
out the game, as they took
advantage of the Royals
reluctance to shoot and
forced Douglas into several
easy turnovers. “They
[Malaspina] do one or two
things, and they do it very
well,” said Coach Williams
after the game, “but still,
knowing what they are going
to do and stopping it are two
different things.”

DC seemed out of
rhythm offensively all game,
reluctant to take shots and
jogging through the offense.
However, with Darcy Savage

ROE

and Kim Neiszner directing
the Royals attack, the women
were able to weather a 9
point Mariners run near the
end of the first half, which
resulted in a 24-23 Malaspina
lead at the half.

The Royals smothered
MUC in the second half with
its press, at times forcing the
Mariners to go three or four
possesions without getting a
shot off. DC still couldn't

| thought it was my turn to lead!

 

shake its offensive woes in
the second half, at one point
Savage berated her
floormates, who she felt
weren't moving fast enough.
The game swung back
and forth in the final min-
utes, as‘each team couldn't
find a way to finish off the
other. Finally it was Savage
forcing a clutch turnover with
less than one minute to go
and Audrey Curran sinking

3\4 free throws to seal a 58-

- 52 victory for the Royals.

When asked to comment on
Savage's defensive play, Coach
Williams said, “She's a solid
defensive player. She’s
intense, she has the smarts,
with her three years of
experience, she’s the one you
want on the floor at the end
of the game.”

These teams will meet

_ again in Naniamo February

Superbowl pre-game report

This Sunday at Pro Player
Stadium in Miami, the Denver
Broncos and the Atlanta
Falcons will clash for the
Vince-Lombardi trophy, the
symbol of excellence in the
NFL. What sets this game
apart from previous champi-
onships is that these two
teams are so evenly matched,
the outcome isn't as easy to
predict as, say, the Pitts-
burgh, Dallas, “game” of a
few years ago. That said, let's
look at how the teams stack
up against each other.
Offense: Starting on
the outside, both teams’
receivers match up well.
Terrance Mathis and Tony
Martin can stretch the field,
keeping pressure on the
Denver corners, while
quarterback Chris Chandler
works the ball underneath to
tight end 0.J. Santiago (a
canuck no less). On the other

 

side of the ball, Ed Macaffery
is proving that the “slow
white guy” tag is false and
Rod Smith can cut up a
defense with his slants across
the middle. If there is one
advantage Denver has in the
receivers, it has to be tight
end Shannon Sharpe. His
motor and mouth don’t stop
once he hits the field, which
may turn the psychological
battle in favour of the
Broncos. Edge: Even

On the line, Denver
definitely has the edge.
Atlanta’s line starts one
rookie, and is basically being
held together with OL coach
Art Shell's teachings.
Denver's, on the other hand,
has one of the best centres in
the league (Tom Nalen), and
has so much chemistry they
should have their own entry
on the periodic table. Edge:
Denver

The running backs in
this game will only be as
good as the quality of their
lines. Terrell Davis does have
better cut back ability than
Jamal Anderson, but if the
Falcons’ line can consistently
push the Broncos off the ball,
Anderson's straight-ahead
style will rule the day. Edge:
Even

This game hangs on the
quarterbacks. While Chris
Chandler led the NFL this
season in fourth quarter OB
rating, John Elway has over
40 career fourth quarter
comebacks. In essence, if
Atlanta wants to hold its first
Lombardi Trophy, they'd
better keep Chandler upright
and keep Elway off the field
in the closing minutes. Edge:
Denver

Defense: The two
defensive lines are as differ-
ent as Haagen Dazs and

Safeway brand ice cream. The
Bronco’s line is all about
sacking the quarterback and
collapsing running lanes. The
Falcon’s line is there to
simply tie up blockers and let
the linebackers earn their
pay. Atlanta’s line will get
some push up the middle, but
with Elway’s scrambling
ability, they also need to have
containment on the outside.
There is experience and
youth backing up both
defensive lines. On the
Falcons’ side there is Jessie
Tuggle, a tackling machine,
who is probably looking at
one of his last chances to get
a ring; and on the other side
is John Mobley, who is
rapidly becoming one of the
best outside ‘backers in the
league. Depending on the
play at the line, both sets of
linebackers will have their
day full shutting down their

Ugh! Who let Helga on the court?

 

27, for a game which Coach
Williams hopes won't have
much influence on the
provincial standings. “This
[game] has a lot of implica-
tions [on the standings]. If
we can stay in a good record,
hopefully that last game
won't mean too much.”

opponents’ running game;
whoever tackles better will
have the edge. Edge: Even

If the game pivots on
anything besides the
quarterbacks, it will be the
secondary. Denver's
cornerbacks have been
consistently burned deep this
year—something the Atlanta
receivers do especially well.
On the other side, Ray
Buchanon covers receivers
like fly paper and will prob-
ably draw the assignment on
Macaffery. Unless Elway can
move the offense without his
other favourite receiver
(besides Sharpe), he might be
looking at retirement on a
sour note. Edge: Atlanta

Overall, it looks like a
down-to-the-wire battle, with
the team that has the ball
last prevailing. Bet on Elway.
Broncos 27-24

 

 

/

 

 

 

 

8 January 27 1999

LD:

the Other Press

A NYE

Pes

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