By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
March 23, 2001
SALINA, Kan. The Bicentennial Center has played host to many entertainers over the years.
Kansas, as one might expect, has performed here on seven occasions.
Others include the Statler Brothers, the Oak Ridge Boys, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, Billy Ray Cyrus, Vince Gill, Alabama, Wayne Newton, Barbara Mandrell, the Beach Boys, Bob Hope, REO Speedwagon, KISS, Dan Fogelberg, and Red Skelton.
The facility has also played host to the ever-popular World Championship Wrestling and to the Kansas Class 4A State High School Championship.
Next up: The Mid-America Farm Expo, March 27-29.
Foreign invasion: Of the 181 players on the rosters of the 16 teams making the national tournament, nearly 10 percent are from other countries. Seventeen athletes (8.8) percent are from other countries.
The countries represented are Sweden, Belarus, Columbia, Africa, Germany, Jamaica, Ukraine, Russia, Hungary, and Slovakia.
The Sultan of Swat: Through the first two days, East Central Community College's Anna Udicova shared the tournament lead in blocked shots with five in the Lady Warriors' 74-73 loss to Cloud County (Kan.).
Shining bright: Double-doubles aren't all that rare in basketball, but having three from one team in the same game?
Utah Valley got 14 points and 10 rebounds from Kristen Saliby, 12 points and 11 rebounds from 6-foot-4 sophomore Ashleigh Chamberlain, and 11 points and 11 rebounds from 6-foot-3 freshman Mariam Sy of Bamaki, Mali, in its 73-58 elimination game win over Wallace State-Hanceville (Ala). Mickey Folsom scored 15 points for UVSC.
Hanceville got 10 points apiece from Paula Dill and Eartha White.
Torre Thomas scored 20 points, while Larisha Graves of Yazoo County High School had 18 points and eight rebounds for Southwest Tennessee in its 72-71 elimination game win over Iowa Western. Amie Williams, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Cleveland East Side, had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Iowa Western had a tournament-high 37 points from 6-foot-4 freshman Ksenyia Schneyder of the Ukraine. Olga Ermakova, a 6-foot-4 sophomore from Russia, added 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Attendance: Through the first two days of the tournament, a total of 7,249 fans had seen the games, thanks in no small part to more than 4,000 complimentary tickets issued.
The 7,249 fans showing up were 2,320 more than last year's count. Paid attendance was 2,693 through Wednesday, some 550 less than last year.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.