The ancient Greek myth of Sysiphus seemed to play out for the Charger girls' basketball team in its 55-21 loss at the hands of tenth ranked IKM-Manning in a Hall of Pride exhibition game last night on the Charger hardcourt. Sysiphus was a mythical figure who founded the Greek city of Corinth and was known as a ruthless king. Zeus, the highest of the Greek gods, became very upset with Sysiphus when he violated the Greek concept of hospitality and generosity. Eventually Sysiphus was condemned in the afterlife to pushing a boulder up a steep hill, only to have the boulder roll back down the hill once Sysiphus had pushed it to the top. So, Sysiphus had to push the boulder again and again and again for eternity! And all because he we was inhospitable and ungenerous to guests who visited Corinth!

It seemed that the Wolves from IKM-M felt the Chargers lacked hospitality during the first quarter of the game, as the ACGC girls held a 13-12 advantage after one fame. That all changed beginning with the second quarter when the Wolves held the local girls to one point and took a 24-14 led at halftime. As the game progressed, it looked as if the Charger girls were indeed pushing that boulder up a steep hill, only to have it roll back down again. ACGC failed to make a field goal during the second and third quarters, with the only scoring being one free throw in each of those quarters.

An effective IKM-M press, a tough half court defense (resulting in 33 turnovers by the Chargers), and a lot of "cherry picking" (sending a player early on a fast break) by the Wolves continually caused frustration for the Charger cagers. A twenty-five point third quarter for the Wolves put the game completely out of reach, and the frustration for the Chargers was apparent by the looks on their faces. The boulder kept rolling down the hill, and so did the Charger confidence.

No one scored in double figures for ACGC, with Mady Smith the leading scorer with 6 points. The Chargers netted only one field goal after the first stanza, and went 7 for 30 from the field for 23%. Smith also led in rebounds with 7, while Morgan Meachem had 6.

Despite the frustrating performance, the Chargers can find some solace in the fact that the exhibition game does not count on the won-loss record. The conference season begins tonight when ACGC will host Madrid, with tipoff at 6 PM. Let's hope the Chargers can be inhospitable for the full four quarters.

Score by Quarters: Charger Box Score: Reb

IKM-M 12 12 25 6--55 FG 3 Pt FT Off-Def Asst's St'ls TP

ACGC 13 1 1 6--21 Fuller 2-2 0-0 0-1 0-2 0 1 4 Stringer 0-0 0-0 1-3 0-0 0 0 1

Smith 2-6 0-2 2-5 1-6 0 0 6

Embleton 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-1 2 1 0

Laabs 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-2 1 2 2

O'Brien 1-7 1-2 0-0 1-0 0 0 3

Young 0-1 0-0 3-4 3-0 0 2 3

Carrick 0-3 0-0 0-2 0-2 1 2 0

Sargent 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 1 2

Meachem 0-3 0-0 0-0 3-3 0 0 0