by Hunter Patterson | May 10, 2010 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE – Adnan Hodzic withdrew from the National Basketball Association draft late Thursday and will return to Lipscomb University this fall for his senior season. “By declaring for this year’s draft, I was able to learn more about the draft process while getting my name in front of scouts and team management,” Hodzic said. “I’m thankful for the support of the Lipscomb family and I look forward to working hard with my teammates to accomplish great things next year.” Hodzic, a 6-foot-8 forward from Sarajevo, Bosnia, entered the draft on April 8. By not hiring an agent, Hodzic retains his eligibility as the Bisons seek back-to-back Atlantic Sun Conference regular season titles along with the program’s first bid to the NCAA tournament. “I am excited that Adnan is returning to Lipscomb for his senior season,” Lipscomb coach Scott Sanderson said. “He’s a tireless worker and provides a strong presence for the team both on and off the court. I think he gained valuable experience through the process and I am pleased that he chose to finish his education.” Hodzic, the nation’s second leading scorer last year and the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year, with be joined on the floor next year by three other seniors – Josh Slater, Brandon Brown, and Michael Teller. Slater was a first team All-Conference selection last year. Hodzic is on pace to graduate next May with a degree in Marketing. He joined 86 other Lipscomb fall sport athletes in being named to the A-Sun All-Academic team for achieving a GPA of 3.0 in the semester of competition. This story was taken...
by Hunter Patterson | May 5, 2010 | News Slider
While the flood waters are receding downtown and across middle Tennessee, families and businesses alike are in the cleanup process. This story has come at a time when the national media are concentrated elsewhere, given the attempted terrorist attack in New York and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that is now reaching the shores of Louisiana. This has not stopped some members of the national media, though. Keith Olbermann had this to say about the flooding of Nashville in a recent segment of his show, “Countdown.” Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Nashville has also been featured on the front page of USA Today with an incredible story about how not only citizens got involved in the relief effort, but also inmates. Homemade videos were posted on YouTube within hours of the flooding. This video in particular has received the most attention, and for good reason. One of the most inspiring posts came from an unlikely source, though. The following story came from a Nashville Predators hockey team blogging site. Patton Fuqua is one of writers for Section303.com, one of the main news outlets for Predators fans. During hockey season fans visit the site to read game recaps, signing news, rumors and anything else Nashville Predators. However, on Wednesday morning, hockey took a back seat. Allow me a moment to step away from the usual voice of this website. What I am about to write has absolutely nothing to do with hockey. If you live outside of Nashville, you may not be aware, but our city was hit by a...
by Hunter Patterson | May 3, 2010 | Sports
MACON, Ga. – Lipscomb’s Mollie Mitchell recorded her third Atlantic Sun Softball Player of the Week award and second on the season after batting .800 for the week (4-for-5), with one home run and five RBIs, while Jacksonville’s Ashley Iveson recorded a 0.47 ERA and struck out 17 batters, while holding opponents to a .115 batting average in 15 innings of work. Mitchell and the Lady Bisons closed out the A-Sun portion of their regular season with a pair of wins at Belmont by a combined 28-1 tally and finish league play with a mark of 18-2. Mitchell, a native of Suwanee, Ga., posted a three-run homer, her fourth of the season, in the 20-1 win Wednesday against the Lady Bisons’ Music City rival. The sophomore holds a streak of 343.2 consecutive innings behind the plate for Lipscomb. Against Kennesaw State, Iveson set the new Jacksonville single season record in wins with her 16th victory after scattering two hits and fanning 12 batters to earn her seventh complete-game shutout of the season. The Kissimmee, Fla. native’s 12 strikeouts also tallied her sixth double-digit strikeout effort of the season, setting a new single-season record. Iveson allowed one run on four hits and four strikeouts in the game one loss at Mercer, but bounced back with two strikeouts in two scoreless relief frames in game two to help JU get the win. Fans can follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and on Facebook. Visit twitter.com/AtlanticSun to begin receiving updates on conference news, weekly awards, and from A-Sun championships. Atlantic Sun followers with a Facebook account can become a “fan” of the...
by Hunter Patterson | Apr 26, 2010 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb sophomore, senior help team tally winning week at the plate, in the circle. From AtlanticSun.org MACON, Ga. – Lipscomb’s Mollie Mitchell recorded her second Atlantic Sun Softball Player of the Week award after a spectacular week at the plate for the Lady Bisons, batting .538 (7-12) with two home runs and three RBIs in three of four games, while fellow teammate Whitney Kiihnl tallied a perfect 3-0 record on the week, including a no-hitter and winning both games of a doubleheader at Campbell to clinch the Lady Bisons the regular season title. Mitchell has caught every game for the Lady Bisons this season while maintaining a top 10 batting average in the conference. The sophomore catcher posted two homeruns in Tuesday’s 7-5 loss to Alabama-Birmingham. The Suwanee, Ga. native also tallied multiple hits in three of the four games as the Lady Bisons went 3-1, including a 2-0 sweep of Campbell Saturday to clinch the A-Sun regular season championship. Kiihnl won 1-0 against Alabama-Birmingham Tuesday and then beat Campbell 4-1 as a starter and combined with Christen Campbell in game two for a 2-0 win against Campbell Saturday. In the 4-1 victory, the Batesville, Miss. native drove in two runs with her first triple of the season. Kiihnl boasts 11 shutouts on her own and has combined for eight more. The Lady Bisons’ 40 wins rank as an NCAA era program record. Fans can follow the Atlantic Sun on Twitter and on Facebook. Visit twitter.com/AtlanticSun to begin receiving updates on conference news, weekly awards, and from A-Sun championships. Atlantic Sun followers with a Facebook account can become a “fan”...
by Hunter Patterson | Apr 21, 2010 | Sports
Lady Bison coach Frank Bennett and his staff signed three new players last week, forward O’Neisha Smith, center Jessica Reece and guard Haley Nelson. Smith, a 5’11 forward out of Georgia is described as a defensive player who can finish underneath the basket and grab rebounds. She is from the same high school as Lipscomb men’s basketball player Brandon Barnes. In high school Smith was the captain of her team, and was twice selected to the All-Region team. Smith has also competed in the high jump in high school, reaching 5-foot-6 in 2009. She plans to also compete on the track team for the Lady Bisons. “O’Neisha is a very good athlete,” Bennett said. “She was state runner up the last two years in the high jump, and hopes to jump 5-8 or more this year.” “She is developing her skills as a player,” Bennett said of her basketball skills. “She is a left-hander, more of a rebounder or a slasher, or someone that can finish and gets fouled a lot. She adds a lot of quickness and jumping ability that will help us. “In her high school career the team progressed each year, eventually reaching the state tournament in 5A,” Bennett said. “Her team had a lot of firsts during her career. “With her athletic ability we feel that she has a chance to make a lot of improvement when it comes to working on her shooting technique and little things to help her with her game. I feel that she is the type that is very coachable and will develop quickly.” Jessica Reece, a 6-3 center from Fletcher, N.C., was...
