10th Lighting of the Green brings about festive fun, gives honor to show host Grant

By Brianne Welch and Logan Butts Potential rain may have moved Lighting of the Green’s tenth anniversary into Allen Arena, but the night only brought a downpour of festive cheer and a surprise fit for the season. Grant returned to be the evening’s emcee. The lineup consisted of Danny Gokey, Jon Guerra, The Willis Clan, Brother Parker and surprise guest Vince Gill. Outside of the night’s entertainment, Lipscomb University shared that a new scholarship will be created in Grant’s honor. Lipscomb’s presidential spouse Rhonda Lowry was on hand to announce a gift of $50,000 to start the scholarship. During the show, a painting was created and will be auctioned off. The proceeds will go to the scholarship fund. During the show, the Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University choruses also performed Christmas songs. Grant performed a number of her Christmas-themed hits throughout the night, including “Emmanuel” and “Tennessee Christmas.” “I’ve always grown up listening to Amy Grant Christmas [music], so it’s kind of a nostalgic thing for me to come and listen to her sing,” attendee Mallory Grady said. Vendors run by local businesses were set up in the arena for anyone in attendance to visit before the show began. Santa and Mrs. Claus were made available for pictures inside of the Hall of Fame room and free hot chocolate and cookies were offered to guests as they arrived to the show. “I just like the whole setup of everything with the booths,” sophomore Kasey Gibson said. “It’s very Christmasy, so I like that.” The night of holiday festivities concluded with the tradition of lighting of Lipscomb’s Christmas tree in the Allen...

Women’s soccer to begin conference tournament after standout season

The Lady Bisons soccer team just completed a record-breaking regular season, and look to take the season even further this weekend. The team finished regular season play Friday Oct. 24 against Northern Kentucky. The game ended in a 2-0 loss, but the team finished with a 10-6-2 overall record, and the no. 2 spot going into the conference tournament. This 2014 season is the first season the Lipscomb women’s team has had a winning record. The Lady Bisons have also only made it into the tournament one other year, and that was last year. A change in coaching staff back in the spring of 2012 is a huge part of the program’s turnaround. Junior Emily Shuler was recruited to Lipscomb before the coaching change, and said she would have looked elsewhere had she been aware of the programs record, but she is thrilled with the change. “When I looked at Lipscomb’s website for them to come watch [me play], I remember their record was like, two wins, maybe. I was like, what am I doing, like why did I ask them to come, and it ended up being awesome,” Shuler said. “Now we’re at a place where we’ve got five times that for wins if not more.” Senior Karli Crosby played on the team before head coach Kevin O’Brien was hired, and she has seen first hand how much of a difference he has made. “We’ve gotten better every single year ever since OB (O’Brien) got here. He came in the spring of my freshman year. The fall before he got here we finished tenth in the conference and...

Lady Bison soccer team comes up short on senior night

Senior night for the Lipscomb women’s soccer team did not go as planned as they were shut out by Northern Kentucky Friday. Lipscomb attempted more than twice as many shots as NKU, but in the end had nothing to show for it, resulting in a 2-0 loss. Prior to the game, the Lady Bisons honored their three seniors: Karli Crosby, Baylee Linnell and Brittany Rupple. With conference tournament implications on the line, the stakes were very high. NKU’s Aubrey Muench opened the score in the 30th minute to give the Norse a 1-0 lead, then scored again in the 49th minute to seal the win. The Purple and Gold finish the regular season with a 10-6-2 record overall and 4-2-1 in conference. As it stands now, the Lady Bisons will likely head into the Atlantic Sun Tournament as the No. 2 seed, and will have a first round bye before taking on the winner between the No. 3 seed Jacksonville and No. 6 seed Kennesaw State. The two weekend, single-elimination tournament begins next Saturday, Nov. 1, and will conclude Sunday, Nov. 9 at Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Meyers, Fla. For more information about the 2014 Atlantic Sun Women’s Soccer Championship, visit atlanticsun.org/sports.wsoc or go...

Spring break sprinkles students across the globe

Spring break happenings are in full swing and Lipscomb students are everywhere from on campus to foreign countries including El Salvador and Jamaica. Students have been planning for their spring break mission trips since the fall semester. The women’s soccer team is heading back to El Salvador for the second time while other mission trips include Saba, Guatemala and Honduras. Junior Karli Crosby from the women’s soccer team is one of four from the original group that went last year. Crosby is excited and feels like it will be a different experience from last year. “I can’t wait to experience the trip that changed my life last year with a new group of my teammates,” Crosby said. “God is going to do great things with this group of girls, and I can’t wait to continue the work we started last year.” Sophomore Lauren Poe is also going on the second mission trip of her life with the Jamaica team. The team will mostly be doing construction of houses and visiting schools and infirmaries. “I’m most looking forward to being able to serve the people there and get closer with my [mission] team,” Poe said. “I’m also an education major, so I’m looking forward to going into the schools there and being with the children.” Not everyone will be on mission trips this break though. Senior golfer MacKenzy Carter is leaving from her golf trip in Hawaii to head to the Bahamas to begin her final spring break. “I am most looking forward to relaxing without golf or classes flooding my mind,” Carter said. “I love being outside, so I...