Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 19, 1991 TAG: 9102190035
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The schedule included 12 contests against teams that won at least 19 games in 1989-90. Five of those came in the first six games - including back-to-back contests against national powers Virginia and Tennessee.
Those two factors resulted in a negative record for the Virginia Tech women's basketball team. It lost its first six games - four more losses than it had ever suffered at the beginning of a season.
But since Christmas, the Lady Hokies have gone 10-5, improving their overall mark to 10-11 (as of Feb. 11). And they sit in third place in the Metro Conference at 7-3 - the squad's best record after 10 conference games since it started Metro play in 1983-84.
"That first month, it took a while for the girls to jell," explained Virginia Tech coach Carol Alfano. "We've played better since then. Our game has gotten better."
Indeed, the Lady Hokies have already met Alfano's preseason expectation of 10 wins. Now they have put themselves in a position where victories in three of their last five games mean a .500 record for the season.
And they have accomplished this through balance. Jeni Garber, the only senior in the starting lineup, leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game. Junior Dayna Sonovick is the squad's top rebounder and No. 2 scorer, averaging 5.8 rebounds and 12.7 points. Sophomore center Lisa Griffith averages 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. And Latisia Brown pulls down five rebounds per game. (All statistics through games of Feb. 11.)
Garber and Sonovick were the two starters who did not play last year. And Griffith and Brown were reserves a year ago.
"All the pressure has been taken off each person," said Garber, who sat out last season after suffering a stress fracture in her left leg during preseason workouts. "It's a team game now . . . if someone is down, another person will score."
"This year we don't have any stars," said Phyllis Tonkin, a junior and the only starter who started last year. "We have to work together to win. We can't count on one person every night."
To help the team reach its potential, Alfano has stressed fundamentals and game preparedness. That strategy, and the teammates' getting used to playing together, paid off - the team has only lost two straight one time since snapping its season-opening losing streak.
"We just had to play with one another," said Griffith, who was the first Lady Hokie to be named Metro Player of the Week when she was honored for her play during the week ending Feb. 11. "We had never played with one another before. We needed some time. Now we're working together and playing pretty good."
And since the team rebounded from its slow start, there have been many key games. The Lady Hokies ended an eight-game losing streak against Southern Mississippi with a 75-64 win on Feb. 7. They upset South Carolina, the No. 2 team in the Metro, 69-67 on Jan. 19. And they got their first win of the season against Towson State in the opening round of the Diamond Club Classic in Blacksburg, 92-61 on Dec. 29.
But Virginia Tech probably set the tone for the remainder of its season when it opened Metro play on Jan. 5 at Memphis State. Picked by many to finish last in the eight-team league, the Lady Hokies triumphed, 71-65.
"The turning point was Memphis State," said Sonovick. "It was the opening of Metro play, it was down there, it was a big game.
"And I don't think anyone thought we'd do as well as we have. That always gets me fired up and ready to go. And everyone else, too."
Virginia Tech plays its last three regular-season games at home: Feb. 21 against Radford; Feb. 23 against Cincinnati; and Feb. 27 against Louisville. All three games start at 7:30 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.
The Metro Conference tournament takes place March 4-6 at Louisville.
by CNB