Lady Bisons softball team within reach of top 25 recognition through early season play

Top 25 is in reach for the Lady Bisons softball team as they moved up to No. 28 in the ESPN.COM/USA softball ranking.  With the season just two weeks under way, the Lady Bisons have made their presence known with wins from Virginia Tech, Butler, Iowa, Drake, UAB and No. 15 Baylor. “It’s exciting to be ranked, and it honestly only motivates us that much more to continue to be the best,” senior catcher Rena’ Cothron said. Lipscomb found huge success when they traveled to Waco, Texas this past weekend to play in the Getterman Classic. Against Baylor, the Bisons won 1-0, which bumped the Bears from 14 down to 15. “So far, I think the season has gone great. 8-1 is a great start to a season, but it’s just that, a start,” Cothron said. “Every game we have won so far has been a complete team win. We just have to keep playing our game and take it one day at a time.” Junior Brianne Welch, junior Paige Neely (recently named Atlantic Sun Player of the Week) and sophomore Tanner Sanders made the Getterman Classic All-Tournament team. Welch found success during the tournament, as she had her first career home run against Iowa. “It feels pretty awesome being top 28,” Welch said. “It’s a great feeling to get recognition for the hard work we’ve put in.” Welch had a two run bomb against Iowa, but it was Sanders who was the winning pitcher. She was named A-Sun Pitcher of the Week for her performance in Texas. Junior Gracey Aguirre, who plays right field for the Lady Bisons,...

High-scoring Bisons contribute to win over Tennessee Tech

Four Lipscomb Bisons scored in double digits in a 87-79 victory against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Allen Arena on Thursday night. Martin Smith, J.C. Hampton, Josh Williams and Malcolm Smith all broke the double-digit barrier. Junior forward Martin Smith led all scorers, putting up 24 points and going 12 for 14 from the free throw line. “I got to the free throw line, got my rhythm going and kept it going from there,” Martin Smith said. He credited his teammates on the evening’s accomplishments. J.C. Hampton had 19 points and was four for five from behind the arc. The redshirt freshman point guard said that that team wants to keep an up-tempo pace. “We want to play fast the whole game,” Hampton said. “We want to get out as quick as possible and get quick baskets. We practice hard to play fast.” Freshman guard Josh Williams had 20 points, a career-high for the new Bison. Malcolm Smith knocked down 11 points against the Golden Eagles and went four for five from the field. The win moved the Bisons to 4-4, while Tennessee Tech fell to 5-5. The game started out with a couple of fouls on each team, but the pace quickened, and with the fast pace, Lipscomb turned the ball over seven times in the first half, while Tennessee Tech had 11 turnovers. The turnovers lessened as the game went on, but Hampton says that team needs to be a little more careful with the ball. “[We need to] just slow it down a little bit, not being so passive and control the ball a little bit better,...

Lady Bisons surge, yet fall short of comeback in loss to Murray State

It almost felt like two separate games for the Lady Bisons basketball team in their 86-79 loss at home to the Murray State Racers on Saturday. In the first half, sloppy play, fouls and turnovers were the story. Murray State had 13 fouls and 6 turnovers, while the Lady Bisons had 11 fouls and 7 turnovers in the first twenty minutes of action. In the second half, the Lady Bisons surged back from being down by 16 points at one point, and with the help of a Chandler Cooper three-point shot, Lipscomb tied the game at 56. However, the Racers pulled away in the closing minutes with the aid of free throws and missed Lipscomb shots to hold on for the victory. Head coach Greg Brown said that in the second half, the team did make improvements. “We did a better job of getting the ball inside, [getting] drives and cuts right there,” Brown said. “I thought we did a better job of executing that part of the game.” Junior Sara Bliss led the Lady Bisons in scoring with 22, 12 of those points from the arc. Redshirt sophomore Ashley Southern picked up a double-double for the game. She scored 20 points and led the team in rebounds with 15. “My teammates were just looking for me inside in the second half, sending me the ball. [It] helped a lot,” Southern said. “We played really well today. I thought, at the very end, we were playing well, but we should have been doing it the whole game.” Southern also said that the team was playing harder in the last...

Lumination’s 2013 Fall Slate

Before the semester becomes too overloaded with events and calendars gets completely booked, Lumination would like to offer a handy guide to all of the events coming up during the fall semester. September looks to bring a full slate of men’s and women’s soccer games. Pledge week also kicks off in September as Bid Night took place Sept. 12. Some of Lipscomb’s most anticipated events begin in October starting with the Tau Phi Cowboy show on Oct. 5, Paint the Herd on Oct. 30 and Haunted High Rise scaring students on Oct. 30. The women’s volleyball schedule kicks into high gear during October as well. Lipscomb’s annual Dodgeball tournament will start November off with a bang. The men’s basketball team will open up their season against Belmont with the Battle of the Boulevard against rival Belmont on Nov. 8, followed by the women’s Battle less than a week later on Nov. 14. Everything from sporting events across all sports to special Student Activities Board sponsored events, to usual favorites like Wednesday Night We Eat are taking place throughout the next few months, making Lipscomb’s campus a busy place. All sporting events take place at Lipscomb University unless otherwise noted. September: 16 Women’s Soccer Battle of the Boulevard vs. Belmont at 7:00 18 Wednesday Night Devo/Wednesday Night We Eat 19 SGA Coffeehouse Maggie Moo’s 9:45 p.m. Bison Square 20-22 Men’s Tennis MTSU Fall Tournament 20 Men’s Soccer vs. Appalachian State 7:30 p.m. Fun in the Square 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Almost Golf 20-21: Midnight Movie: Space Jam at The Belcourt 21 Volleyball vs. Kentucky 2:00 p.m. 22 Men’s Soccer...

2013-14 men’s basketball schedule set, includes trips to Georgetown, University of Georgia

After an off-season full of change, including the hiring of Casey Alexander as the new head coach, the upcoming 2013-14 Lipscomb men’s basketball team officially has its first schedule of the Alexander era, with tilts against conference foes and local competition filling out the slate. Following an exhibition match against Freed-Hardeman on Halloween night, Lipscomb opens the season against arch-rival Belmont in the first Battle of the Boulevard at Allen Arena on Nov. 8. The second round will take place down the street on Nov. 20 at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. The Bisons will take the court against two other Nashville squads in November as well. The Nov. 15 game against Vanderbilt will be the first between the opponents since 2009, and the Nov. 18 matchup with Tennessee State will be the first meeting of the Bisons and Tigers in over a decade. Lipscomb’s first out-of state trip will lead to the program’s first game against perennial heavyweight Georgetown in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving weekend. “That will be an exciting time for our guys to go to the nation’s capital and play a premier program,”  Alexander told Lipscomb Athletics.  “It will be a dream come true for J.J. Butler to go back home and play in front of his family. There are a lot of really exciting parts to that game to look forward to. Hopefully some Bison fans will be able to travel with us.” December holds key non-conference road tilts for the Bisons against Murray State on Dec. 7 and the University of Georgia on Dec. 14. Lipscomb opens up conference play at Stetson on Dec. 30 followed...