Madison Co. to Host Fifth Southern Growth Policies Board Community Forum Feb. 1

Madison County will host its fifth Southern Growth Policies Board (SGPB) Community Forum on Friday, Feb. 1.

The event, titled “Madison County: Looking toward the Future,” will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Perkins Building on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University.

The community forum, facilitated by the EKU Facilitation Center and Southern Growth, is part of an ongoing effort with the SGPB to assist Richmond, Berea and Madison County with the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development plan. It is open to members of Richmond and Berea Chambers of Commerce and selected local high school student leaders.

“Forum participants will be joining other Madison Countians who are optimistic about the future of our county,” said Marc Whitt, associate vice president for public relations at EKU, who once again is coordinating this year’s Forum. “The Madison County Economic Development Plan Project Leadership Team and Southern Growth are seeking input on topics such as workforce readiness, education, entrepreneurship, industrial and retail development, tourism, arts and quality of life issues, healthcare, agribusiness, the Madison Airport, Blue Grass Army Depot and other relevant topics of interest to our citizens.”

The format for the community forum will feature small group interaction expanding to a facilitated, room-wide presentation of ideas. The lunch will feature a moderated panel discussion involving local industrial human resources managers.

The Southern Grown Policies Board (www.southern.org) is a regional public policy think tank representing 14 Southern states that develops and advances visionary economic development policies.

For more information, or to register, contact the Richmond Chamber of Commerce at 859-623-1720, or register online at www.richmondchamber.com/events/eventdetail.aspx?EventID=2564, or visit the Berea Chamber of Commerce at www.bereachamber.com. The registration fee of $10 includes lunch.

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Women's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker At Florida Southern

LAKELAND, Fla.—A strong defensive effort by the Buccaneers was not enough on a night in which Barry (9-5, 4-1 SSC) struggled offensively. The Florida Southern Mocs defeated the Bucs 63-60 in overtime Saturday afternoon in a battle of two of the top three teams in the conference. The Buccaneer’s entered the day unblemished in conference play and the Mocs held down the third spot with a 3-2 mark, but conference wins on the road are tough to come by and Barry was unable to steal one in Jenkins Field House on this night.

The first half was a struggle offensively for both teams as the Mocs jumped out to an early 9-3 lead capped by a Michaela Hawley bucket at the 16:12. Alex Zamora was limited to just three minutes in the half as she picked up two quick fouls and was quickly replaced by Brooke Keeton.

The Bucs would answer with a 10-2 run after a Glaucia Lehn layup at the 9:38 mark to give them the two point lead, however, the Mocs (12-4, 4-2 SSC) would regain the advantage and would go on to lead by as many as seven.

Both teams shot under forty percent from the field in the first half ,with the Bucs shooting thirty-five percent including 0-5 from beyond the arch, but it was Florida Southern’s dominance on the boards and a pair of three point baskets that resulted in a five point advantage heading in to the intermission.

A re-energized Buccaneer squad in the second half slowly climbed back in to the game by forcing turnovers as a result of a full court press and an offensive spark from Keeton off the bench. An 11-0 run capped off by a Keeton three point conversion pulled Barry within one with just under eleven minutes to play.

Both teams  would trade buckets throughout the remainder of the half and the Bucs found themselves tied at 52 with ten seconds left, but a three point look from Suttington rimmed out to force an overtime.

In the extra period the Mocs led by as many as five, and even so, the Bucs would have an opportunity down three with just over one second on the clock but Jackie Perez was unable to get a shot off.

The Buccaneers finished shooting 34 percent from the floor and 0-13 from downtown, it was their stringent defense that forced 20 Moccasin’s turnovers resulting in 20 points on the other end of the floor that kept Barry in the game.

Three players finished in double figures for the Bucs as Danielle DeBerry finished with 13 points, Shanna Suttington chipped in 10 points and Keeton contributed with 11 points and three blocks off the bench.

The Mocs were led by Michaela Hawley, the conference’s leading scorer, with a game high 30 points despite playing the majority of the second half and overtime in foul trouble. Morgan Lamberg added 12, and Taylor Maldonado chipped in eight for Florida Southern.

The loss was the first in SSC play for the Buccaneers, snapping their three game winning streak.

Barry now turns to Rollins, the pre-season favorites to finish a-top the SSC in a matchup of the first and second place teams in the league. The Buccaneers will travel to Winter Park Wednesday night with tipoff set for 5:30 p.m. Live-stat and video broadcast is available through the Barry University website, GOBARRYBUCS.COM.

Box Score

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Florida Southern Stuns Buccaneers

Brooke Keeton (43) blocked three shots and hit three of four field goals Saturday. Photo by Jason Roberts

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- This is not what the Buccaneers were expecting. Not a loss. Not by 30.

Rather, the Sunshine State Conference frontrunning Barry University women's basketball team was hoping to maintain its perch atop the league standings with No. 11 Rollins College. But after suffering an 80-50 home loss to Florida Southern Saturday, the Bucs dropped a game behind the Tars in the league race.

Rollins beat Saint Leo, 86-50.

Barry (15-7, 9-3 SSC) never led in a game it shot 31 percent from the floor. Florida Southern (18-5, 9-4) crept within a half-game of the Bucs for second place in the league after shooting 43.9 percent.

The Buccaneers trailed by six at the halftime intermission, but were outscored, 47-23, in the second half in a runaway win for the Moccasins. Alex Zamora was the lone Buccaneer to reach double figures in scoring. She had 10 points and six rebounds.

Michaela Hawley scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Florida Southern, which hit 12 of 27 three-pointers, including a 53.3 percent effort from beyond the arc in the second half. Megan Dzikas canned seven of 12 from beyond the arc, finishing with 25 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

Danielle Walsh and Sofie Lundberg had 11 points apiece for the Mocs.

Barry's Brooke Keeton scored seven points and blocked three shots, and Yvonne Houston returned from a one-game absence to finish with eight points and two steals. Shanna Suttington had eight points, four assists and a steal.

The Buccaneers were four of 14 on three-point attempts for 28.6 percent. Barry had nine field goals in each half. Florida Southern shot 50 percent from the field in the second half, and sank all seven of its free throws.

Barry plays at Florida Tech Wednesday.

BOX SCORE

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Basketball Hosts Florida Southern Saturday

Kaley Howard's presence has given the Bucs another low-block stabilizer during this six-game win streak. Photo by Jason Roberts

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry University's basketball teams host Florida Southern Saturday afternoon at Health & Sports Center in a bid to position themselves for the Sunshine State Conference tournament. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.

Barry's women's team has won a league-best six straight games, and is tied with No. 11 Rollins College for first place in the conference. The Buccaneers (15-6, 9-2) have not lost since suffering a 62-40 setback at then-No. 7 Rollins on Jan. 18.

Rollins (18-3, 9-2) hosts Saint Leo Saturday. The Bucs and Tars will hook up again when Barry hosts Rollins at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22. Both the Buccaneers and Tars appear to be a lock to host a first round league tournament game on Feb. 29. The top eight teams in the league qualify for the postseason conference tourney.

Barry is ranked 25th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents 56.2 points per game. The Bucs are also ranked 18th in the country in turnovers per game, limiting their mistakes to 15.2 per contest.

Senior Alex Zamora ranks 50th in the country in blocked shots at 1.8 per game. Senior guards Shanna Suttington and Danielle DeBerry are averaging 10.9 and 9.0 points per game, respectively. Senior forward Yvonne Houston, who missed Wednesday's game for precautionary reasons after a dizzy spell earlier in the day, is scoring 9.7 points per game.

Zamora is the team's leading rebounder at 8.4 per game. She is 24 away from 200 this season.

Barry's men are tied for sixth in the SSC, a game behind Lynn for fourth. The top four teams in the SSC host a first round SSC tourney game on Wednesday, Feb. 29.

The Buccaneers (11-12, 5-6) rank 11th in the country in blocked shots per game, and junior forward Jermaine Edwards is 34th nationally in that category. The Bucs are 31st in the nation in field goal percentage defense at 40.6 per game.

Senior guard Evan White leads Barry in scoring at 13.5 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 17 games this year, including a stretch in which he reached 10 or more in eight straight tips. Junior guard Chad Renfro is averaging 12.2 points per game.

Florida Southern has four players averaging in double figures, headlined by Seth Evans' 16.7 per game.

Barry will spend all of next week on the road, playing at Florida Tech Wednesday and at Eckerd next Saturday before hosting Rollins Feb. 22 and Saint Leo Feb. 25 on Senior Day.

Admission to Health & Sports Center games is $5 for adults, $3 for non-Barry students and senior citizens. Barry students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a BUC Card ID.

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