by Cory Woodroof | Oct 31, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The Casey Alexander era of men’s basketball offered a sampling of what’s to come in Allen Area Thursday night as the Bisons posted up a 95-83 exhibition win over the visiting Freed-Hardeman Lions. The Bisons and Lions’ pre-season match-up truly defined the phrase “back-and-forth,” as most of the game was a power struggle to see who could hold on to their low-margin lead. For most of the first half, Freed Hardeman had a small leg up on the Bisons, but Lipscomb managed to use the final minutes effectively to enter halftime with a 50-45 lead over the Lions. The second half quickly began to mirror the first, and it wasn’t until junior Martin Smith got hot from the arch (sinking four 3-pointers) that the Bisons truly began to run away with the game. Martin Smith led the Bisons in scoring with 23, while redshirt freshman J.C. Hampton had 20. Sophomore J.J. Butler led the team in assists with 7, while junior Malcom Smith topped rebounds with 7. He also had 14 points on the night. Hampton expressed his enthusiasm in the team returning to the court for the season. “It just felt good being back out with the team, playing hard,” Hampton said. He credited the team’s defensive play for helping lift the team in the second half. Next week presents a new challenge for the Bisons as the annual Battle of the Boulevard makes it way to Lipscomb’s campus to open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 8. Hampton says that the team will need to continue to focus on defense as the Bruins await. Check below for...
by Jesica Parsley | Oct 30, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Freshman Ellen Lundy has already recorded big accomplishments and made several memories during her first season on the Lady Bisons soccer team. Lundy finished the regular season as the Atlantic Sun co-leader in points with 31. The freshman standout scored 14 goals overall, setting a Lipscomb record for most goals in a season. She was also recently ranked number 68 on Top Drawer Soccer’s top 100 freshman list. And, this past weekend, she had a major role in helping the Lady Bison reach their first appearance in the conference tournament in school history. Lundy hails from Rogers, Ark. She says her decision to come to Lipscomb was an easy one. “When I came on my visit, I loved the culture and community of the school,” Lundy said. “Then, I met the girls and coaches, who were so awesome. It was just encouraging and easy.” Entering the biggest stage of her career yet, Lundy wanted to prove she belonged at the collegiate level. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in, but I just wanted to prove I could play at the Division I level and accomplish my goal of helping contribute to the team anyway I could. I feel like I did that,” Lundy said. One of Lundy’s favorite moments of the season was the Lady Bison big 2-1 win over Mercer, who is the defending A-Sun champion. Lundy scored both goals with the game-winner coming in the 83rd minute. “Looking back, when we beat Mercer was a huge win for us that kick started our season and gave us energy and hope that we could make the tournament,” Lundy said. Lundy said her favorite...
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 29, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb has been buzzing with chatter after news broke Friday night that the university officially would begin removing all use of the acronym “LU” from campus. The university had been contacted by Virginia-based Liberty University, which claimed ownership of the abbreviation. Assistant Vice President of Communication and Marketing Kim Chaudoin said the university will return to “Lipscomb” being the primary logo for the school. “In the whole scheme of the 122 years that the university’s been around, this is just a very small blip on the screen,” Chaudoin said. “Yes, it seems like kind of a big deal now, but Lipscomb has always been the Lipscomb brand.” Chaudoin said that although Lipscomb would still love to keep “LU” as a part of the school, the campus will not allow a logo controversy to throw a wrench in the gears. “We would prefer to be able to use this mark,” she said. “[But] Lipscomb is still Lipscomb, and we’re bigger than two letters. We’re bigger than a logo.” Many Lipscomb students have expressed their shock at the move. “I honestly think it’s kind of dumb,” says Emily Dunn, a senior family relations major. “Aren’t there other universities that use the same abbreviations? I think we should be able to use it because we are Lipscomb University…LU. “But I don’t necessarily think we should go to court over it, either.” Junior English major Melissa Pinhal suggested Liberty take a look at other schools that could potentially use the “LU” acronym, including Lund University, Lincoln University, Lancaster University, Lamar University, Lawrence University, Lehigh University, Loughborough University, Laurentian University, Lindenwood University, Lakehead University, Lingnan...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Oct 28, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons held off the Freed-Hardeman Lions during the first exhibition game of the season in Allen Arena on Monday. The game started with Lipscomb’s first possession ending with a three-point shot by Sara Bliss that fell perfectly through the basket. From then on, the Lions kept it relatively close, but the Bisons pulled away in the final minutes to make it 68-57 as the final score. Three players posted double-digit numbers and even a double-double to aid the Lady Bisons in their victory. Ashley Southern, a redshirt sophomore from Tuscumbia, Ala., posted the double-double. Southern scored 14 points and had 12 rebounds. “To be honest, I was really nervous, but my teammates helped me get into a rhythm in the second half,” Southern said. Bliss, a junior from Pleasant View, Tenn., led the team in scoring with her 20 points. True freshman Maya Dillard from Dillard, Ga., was close behind, scoring 18 points, ten of which came from free throws. Turnovers were a common theme of the game. Both teams combined for a total 40 turnovers–13 from Lipscomb, 27 from Freed-Hardeman. “It was a little ugly early,” head coach Greg Brown said. “I thought execution-wise, toward the end, we got a little bit of flow.” The Lady Bisons will continue to work on their weaknesses, and Southern said that the team will continue to highlight what works for them. “You can expect a lot of different things from last year. We’ll be really hard screeners and we’re going to hustle on every play.” Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Bridgette Begle | Oct 27, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Women’s soccer made history Sunday afternoon as they advanced for the first time in program history to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. The chips fell into the right places on Sunday just minutes before the Bisons took the field against USC Upstate. In order to advance, the team would have to win against Upstate–at the time ranked 10th, and Northern Kentucky–9th — would have to tie or beat ETSU–8th– on Sunday to be finished before the Bison’s game-time. Freshman Ellen Lundy says that even though the scores were in, the coaches did not tell the players until halftime that they now controlled their own fate. “They just said, ‘Hey, ETSU lost,’ . . . okay, now let’s focus on us,” Lundy said. At the half, the Bisons were tied 1-1 and finished the game with a steady lead of 4-1. This year’s team has been blowing out the record books both individually and as a team. Besides making the tournament, the team has also set the record for number of wins in a season with six. Assistant Coach Chris Klotz said that the team has worked so hard and has earned this berth. “These girls have battled all year long and it’s so well-deserved,” Klotz said. “I am overcome with emotion. I am just so pumped for these girls.” With Sunday being senior day, the team honored three seniors, Kelsey Reiman, Callie Cavanaugh and Stephanie Romero. Lundy added how much the seniors deserve this and how hard they have worked for three year to make it to this point. The Bisons will play Kennesaw State in Kennesaw, Ga., on Saturday, Nov....
by Cory Woodroof | Oct 26, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Update: Here is our second story on the matter, with reactions from Lipscomb, Liberty, students and legal experts. Lipscomb will no longer be able to use the abbreviation “LU” in official capacity, the university announced to campus leaders Friday evening. After Virginia-based Liberty University contacted Lipscomb and claimed ownership over the phrase “LU,” the university decided to begin a transitioning phrase of removing “LU” from all university usage. “Several months ago, the university was contacted by legal counsel for Liberty University who informed us that they had copyrighted the use of the letters “LU” some time ago, and we did not have the right to use it as a logo or in any other description of Lipscomb University,” Vice President of Communications and Marketing Deby K. Samuels wrote in the email. “In subsequent weeks, outside legal counsel was retained, and several attempts were made at reasonable negotiation. In the end, there were two options: one, initiate federal court litigation to adjudicate the rights to “LU” or, two, discontinue its use. The cost and distraction to take the issue to court would be substantial and the outcome could still be negative. Therefore, the decision was made to immediately transition away from the use of “LU” campus wide.” Samuels noted that there will be a period of grace to help ease the transition, but no new use of the phrase “LU” will be allowed. More as this story...