Luke Judge

It’s safe to say the Rosario family will always be guests of honor at the Southwell Complex.

COUGARS

With her sister from Texas looking on, Denise Rosario had one of her better nights as a Cougar, scoring 19 points in a 76-48 victory over Park in an American Midwest Conference Tournament semifinal.

“I don’t know what it is,” Rosario said. “I like that they came out and supported me. I have a lot of family, but she’s probably the one who supports me the most, so I want to do well when she’s watching.”

After getting off to a slow start against Harris-Stowe State in the quarterfinals, Columbia (27-5) didn’t let that happen against Park. Heather English started the game with a three-point play before Janita Session scored 10 of the next 12 points. The Cougars started the game with an 18-4 run.

“It was big to get off to a fast start,” Session said. “We came out with a lot more intensity and really picked it up later in the first half. we continued to push them, and that led to turnovers and more offense.”

Park (18-11) roared back, cutting the lead to 21-19 before a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer by Kandace Cross pushed the advantage back to seven. Rosario put an exclamation mark on the first half by scoring her 10th point with a basket and free throw, giving the Cougars a 33-25 lead at halftime.

“We got a little soft on defense during the middle part of the first half,” Columbia Coach Mike Davis said. “But our defense is one of the strengths of this team. Julie Teeple took a couple of charges, and that really got us going.”

While Columbia got most of its baskets in the first half in transition, the Cougars relied on their half-court offense after intermission. with Rosario and Amanda Phillips camping in the post, English was freed up for an early 3-pointer as Columbia went on a 10-2 tear to start the second half. English finished with 17 points.

It wasn’t just English’s shooting that helped boost Columbia. a long pass over her head nearly went out of bounds before English spun in mid-air and saved it to Rosario for an easy basket to extend the lead to 19, bringing a smile to Davis’ face on the bench.

“That was just an amazing play,” Davis said. “Not many players would go after it. Even fewer players would have the athletic ability to save it. as a coach, that’s just a fun play to watch.”

English and Mackenzie Smith both hit 3-pointers in the final three minutes to put the game away. but the perfect ending came when Phillips rejected a shot to half court at the buzzer for her fifth block, giving her a school-record 138 blocks this season.

“I thought it was such a fitting way to end the night,” Davis said. “Defense has been her key from the beginning. a lot of players want to score, but she takes such great pride in playing defense. This is a huge honor for her.”

Columbia will play William Woods, a 68-64 winner over Missouri Baptist, in the championship on Monday at the Southwell Complex.

“It would be awesome to win here as a senior,” Session said. “We’ve worked so hard all year.”

Copyright 2011 Columbia Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Antique cufflinks would always make great gifts for whatever occasion. But why antique cufflinks? Hundreds of cufflinks are manufactured each day as there are new designs coming out too. And they’re all brand new – never been used. Would they not make a good gift too? Of course. But antique cufflinks are way different. They hold some value that brand new cufflinks don’t have.

What’s with antique cufflinks? They’re really old and perhaps, outdated sometimes.

Antiques are timeless beauties no doubt. Imagine the love and care and devotion put therein for so many years just so to preserve the antique in its best condition. And mind you, antique cufflinks, like any other jewelry, need extra care for them to last all those years.

Even if they’ve been used countless of times decades or even centuries ago, antique cufflinks still deserve respect. They always have a story to tell. They hold so many memories and have witnessed so many events.

Most of the antique type, especially the very old ones, are also rare finds. Meaning, they’re one of a kind – perhaps just a few pairs left of a specific design. You’ll probably have a hard time finding another pair exactly as one.

Now just how old can these type of cufflinks be?

Some of these timeless cufflinks are fortunate to be century-old accessories. For example, there exist Victorian era cufflinks which dates back in the 1800s and 1900s. Now another distinction of these antiques is that they’re really expensive pieces of jewelry. Their price is not only determined by the age of the cufflinks, but also by its finish. It’s not uncommon to find, especially among the few century-old cufflinks, antiques made of gold, not to mention the designs being lovely. If they happened to be studded with precious stones such as diamonds and gemstone that would definitely raise the price too.

Of course, cufflinks do evolve over time too, as they pass from one era to another. For example, gold cufflinks are classics ever since, but platinum cufflinks emerged predominantly in the late Victorian era around 1900s. If you get to buy them now, they’re relatively expensive. As for designs, antique cufflinks are distinguishable base on the dominant design of an era. For example, one era carries this particular design and so forth. A good jewelry historian or collector can distinguish that. And they differ in fashion and style too. Antique type of cufflinks can well reflect the attitude and fashion sense for a particular period in time.

A particular era for antique cufflinks may mean a period of 10 years or so, until the next wave of cufflink design comes. For example, the antique type may be classified as 1910, 1920s, or 1930s cufflinks. It is always assumed that the older the cufflinks, the higher the value. A typical pair of these precious antique jewelry can be priced at over a thousand dollars. If you have the money to spare, get at least a pair. Antique cufflinks make good investments too.

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