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Spartan shortsBy ROD GIPSON © St. Petersburg Times, published December 1, 2000 TAMPA -- It was a simple enough win. The men's basketball team blasted Puerto Rico-Cayey 94-47 Wednesday to improve to 6-0. But the victory actually was huge -- for coach Richard Schmidt. It was Schmidt's 400th career victory. In his 18 seasons at UT, Schmidt is 372-141. Add in his two seasons at Vanderbilt, and he is 400-168. James Mereus and Leonard Kelly provided the offense. Mereus scored 19 points and had nine rebounds while Kelly scored a career-high 17 points. But senior forward Percy White was the top Spartan last week. The 6-foot-7 Stanardsville, Va.-native averaged 16.3 points a game, earning SSC Player of the Week honors. In beating No. 8 Salem International, White led UT with 17 points and nine rebounds. The 6-0 start has the Spartans ranked 11th nationally after being No. 12 in the preseason poll. But UT has a ways to go to match its best start. The 1991-92 Spartans began the year 14-0. That season, UT won its first five games by an average of 18 points. This year, UT is beating its opponents by an average of 30 points. UT plays at the Disney Classic in Kissimmee on Monday and Tuesday against Pace (N.Y.) and Miles (Ala.). WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: The Spartans are 5-1 and travel to Valdosta State this weekend for the the four-team Valdosta State Tournament. UT plays Benedict on Friday and Elizabeth City State (N.C.) on Saturday. Since losing to Ashland 65-62 Nov. 18, the Spartans have won four in a row, getting solid play from sophomore center Jessie McDowell, junior guard Nichole Blair, freshman forward Yushonda Morse and sophomore guard Andrea Nordholt. McDowell is grabbing seven rebounds a game and has 15 blocked shots in six games, including a UT single-game record of seven against Otterbein on Tuesday. Blair and Nordholt are averaging 13 and eight points per game, respectively. Despite missing the last two games with an ankle injury, Morse leads UT in scoring with 17 points a game. The tournament gives UT coach Tom Mosca a shot at his 200th career victory while continuing to give the Spartans' new starters more playing time. UT's defense has been solid, allowing opposing offenses to shoot just 41 percent from the field while recording 94 steals and 25 blocks.
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