The. Collegian Wednesday, February 22 .. • .... . • _NC,AA _Basketball Tournament F eier -Heats Up by .Mike Cifelli Collegian Staff Writer Who wants number one? The top ranking seems to ,be there for the taking these days. At this point in the college basketball season, the top spot has traded hands on four occasions. Oklahoma is the current king of the hill for the second time after an exciting 82-80 victory over previous number one Arizona. The "musical chairs" of the college polls began when original number one Duke lost three in a row.and Illinois took over. The nation's number one ranking stopped over in Champaign for only a short visit as the Illini were defeated by unranked MiUnesota. , Then came Oklahoma for their initial trip to the number one spot.. This was also a short stay as,the Sooners were upset but_rival Oklahoma State. This made -way for. the Wildcats of Arizona who subsequently handed; the top spot back to Oklahoma. With' iduinament time just around the corner, March Madness may become just a little madder than usual The top spot is still waiting for a permanent occupant and the parody in college hoops this season may be an indication of a wide open shootout in the NCAA's. There- is a long list of teams who should make some noise in tournament play. Illinois - The Illini need 3-point specialist Kendall Gill back from a foot injury as well as strong play by Kenny Battle underneath. . Indiana - Bobby Knight has put-together a better squad than anyone expected. Guard Jay Edwards is key to the Hoosiers game. Oklahoma - The talented duo of Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock lead a run and gun Sooner offense that is tough to defend. Team depth and Final Four experience could make them the team to beat. Georgetown - Walkout or not, John Thompson's Hoyas have the balance to rise to the top. Playmaker Charles - Smith and maturing rookie Alonzo Mourning are instrumental to their success. Missouri - The Tigers are playing inspired basketball in the absence of their coach, Norm Stewart, who had surgery recently, Lee Coward and freshman Anthony Peeler lead a solid Missouri lineup. Arizona - The play of Sean Elliot alone ~make the 'Cats a contender. UNLV Stacey Augmon and Co. - will have the Rebels runnin' strong come tourney time. Always a dangerous squad. Louisville - The Cards are never nervous and tough to beat with Pervis Ellison and La Brandford Smith leading the charge. Syracuse Orangemen have continued to improve with the help of future first round draft picks Sherman Douglas and Derrick Coleman. Seton Hall - The Pirates don't have many big stars, but as a team thay have proven to be a tough. competitor. These and other basketball powers will look for their stars to shine in the - tourney. Heading the nation statistically is Loyola-Marymount's Hank Gathers, who is first in the nation in scoring (33.3) and in "gathering" rebounds (14.0). Other big guns include Lionel Simmons of LaSalle (28.3 ppg, 11.4 reb) and Chris Jackson of LSU (28.2). Simmons is turning some heads in Philadelphia as he closes in on becoming only the .second college player ever to score 3000 points and grab 1000 rebounds in a career. And, speaking of turnings heads, Jackson, LSU's freshman sensation, has the opponents' heads spinning down in Louisiana. Jackson has helped lift the Tigers on many, occasions, inclUding a 53 point effort against Florida, 50 against Tennessee, 48 in only his third game against Louisiana Tech; and a last minute, one-on-three game winning shot to beat Georgetown. Also high on the scoring list are Bimbo Coles of Virginia Tech (27.5) and . Oklahoma's Stacey King (26.5). Other national leaders include the Hoya's Alonzo Mourning in blocked shots (5.3 pg) and-Mookie Blaylock of the Sooners in steals (4.4 pg)- With the balance of competition currently evident in NCAA basketball, there may yet be another changing of the guard at number. one. It won't matter come March; it will be anyceers 'tournament. Lady Lions -Finish by John Musser Collegian Staff Writer The Lady Lions slipped by SUNY-Fredonia for their ninth victory of the season, 72-71, before dropping one at Westminster, 58-49, to close out last week. The Lady Lions finished' the season with a home court loss to. Saint Vincent College Monday, 84-63. • In last Thursday's contest in Erie Hall, Lisa Butch and Michelle Madison had the Lady Lions's offense firing on all cylinders as they combined for 40 points. Madison also hauled in 10 rebounds during her 20 point performance, while Butch made all four of her foul attempts on her way to 20. The Lady Lions took an early seven point lead over The Fredonia Blue Devils. Madison jump started a 9-2 run with three consecutive baskets. At 11:18 Butch canned a shot from the right side of the foul line to incite a 14-6 run, giving Behrend a 33-21 advantage. Lisa Dorenkamp capped off the outburst, which was paced by Madison and Butch with four points apiece, with a three-point bomb. Fredonia slowly cut into the 12-point difference until finally knotting up the game at 39 with :58 seconds remaining in the first half. Dorenkamp gave .the Lady Lions the lead - 7. in -- the- filial seconds with her second trifecta of the night. The Lady cager's lead was erased almost seven minutes into the second half on a layup by the Blue Devil's Colleen Lemanski, who lead all scorers with 22. The Lady Lions used an 8-0 run, with four points by Madison, to overtake Fredonia and take the lead again, 64-59. Two key baskets by Butch and good foul shooting by Dorenkamp and Melanie Dunn down the stretch held off a late rally by Fredonia, which included eight points by Lemanski and a two point buzzer beater by Danyale Williams. In addition to Butch and Madison's outstanding performance, Dorenkamp had eight points and collected eight boards. Krista Fortson and Heather Murry each added seven markers while grabbing seven and six rebounds respectively. Fredonia dropped to 10-11, while the Lady Lions upped their record to 9-14. The win total is four more than last years total when the Lady cagers dropped 19 of 24 games. On Saturday afternoon, the Lady Lions took their act on the road to the home of the Titans of Westminster. Behrend played Westminster hard, but the 15-3 Titans proved to be too strong for the Lady Lions. Michele Madison lead Behrend with 17 points. On Monday night, senior Lisa Butch was honored before the game for her outstanding basketball career at Behrend. Not only has Butch been a team leader fo by Jeff - v*ller • The Lady Lion's Heather Murray puts up a jumper from the paint during a 72-71 win over Fredonia. on and off the court, but she has also placed her name in the record books. After Monday nights game, Lisa Butch finished off her career in second place on the woman's career points list, behind only Sue Holmes. Coach Jenepher Banker expressed the need to thank the senior star for her dedication to the athletic program. "She has been major to this program and gives 100 percent everytime out on the floor," said Coach Banker. She also added that "Lisa is a quality person." Unfortunately; her career ended with a disappointing loss to Saint Vincent. The Lady Lions held the lead for most of the first half, taking a . 40-36 advantage into the locker room. Madison and Butch paced the attack with 12 and eight points respectively. The second half was the downfall of the Lady Lions, as the lid was on the basket for Behrend. While the Lady Lions had trouble getting shots to fall, Penn State Erie The Behrend College 1988-89 Speaker Series: DR. BERNICE SANDLER Director of the Project on the Status and Education of Women of the Association of American Colleges "Women on Campus: These Are Times That Try Men's Souls" Wednesday, March 8,1989 8:00 p.m. -Reed Lecture Hall Page 11 946 Saint Vincent had no problem finding the mark and ran off a 20- 6 run. The Lady Lions, fatigued from playing their third game in five days, were unable to get back on track as they were plagued by turnovers and bad passing. Madison had a game-high of 20 points, while Dorenkamp added 14. Butch and Dunn each chipped in with eight. The Lady Lions finished off the season at 9-16. The Lady hoopsters have been playing .500 ball since the end of winter break, going 6-6. The strong finish has renewed hopes for an improved season next year. "If we can recruit three or four good people to help us, we can be a competively good team," said assistant coach Michael Bari. Bari would also like to say that "Coach Banker did a good job this year. She has made the program respectable this year. With some support she can do a good job."