Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 9, 1992 TAG: 9203090074
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: ROCK HILL, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
UVa, which won the regular-season race this year for the fourth time, will be bidding for its second tournament title today when it meets Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. at the Winthrop Coliseum.
"It means a whole lot to us," said senior guard Tammi Reiss, a member of the Cavaliers' championship team in 1990. "We won't settle for anything less."
In a tournament that has been marked by upsets, it looked like the Cavaliers might become the most prominent victim until they pulled away late in the second half Sunday for a 74-55 victory over fourth-seeded North Carolina.
Virginia, ranked No. 1 in the country, led 41-40 before Reiss hit a 3-pointer with 13:22 remaining that started a 15-4 run.
"A one-point lead can be pretty dangerous; just look at what Georgia Tech has done," said Reiss, a second-team all-ACC choice for the third consecutive year. "Once we got up by four, you didn't feel like [North Carolina] could take the lead on any possession."
North Carolina (21-8) hung tough behind ACC rookie of the year Charlotte Smith, who scored 18 points before she was called for her fifth foul with 7:12 left and the Tar Heels down 58-49.
"That was key," said UVa coach Debbie Ryan, who realized there might have been some argument on the call. "I didn't know it was on Charlotte until she came out of a group of players all upset."
Junior center Heather Burge scored on the play and hit the free throw to put the Cavaliers ahead by 12. Burge finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting eight of 13 shots.
Burge and her 6-foot-5 twin sister, Heidi, each picked up two fouls in the first half and neither played in the final 8:31 before halftime, though not by design.
"I think I made a mistake," Ryan said. "I should have come back with them, but we got up by 15 [points]. It got down to three minutes and I said to myself, `I'm not going to put them back in now.' "
The Cavaliers, who led 32-17 after a Reiss 3-pointer with 5:32 remaining, failed to score in their last 10 possessions before the half as UNC closed to 32-27.
"On five of those possessions, we turned the ball over," Ryan said. "I was really angry, so I took a little longer than usual outside the locker room and tried to calm down.
It was shades of 1991, when the Cavaliers, ranked No. 1 after winning the regular season, were beaten by Clemson in the ACC semifinals.
"When I came in at half, I asked them, `What's wrong?' " Ryan related. "They said, `It's all right,' and we went on from there. I actually felt good at 41-40 because it looked like I was going to have to do some coaching."
The Burge twins, who combined for one rebound in the first half, came alive in the second half and scored 23 of UVa's 42 points. Moreover, neither fouled out.
"It was a good thing we had them down the stretch," Ryan said. "It was a gamble that paid off."
After shooting 34.5 percent in the first half, UVa was 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) over the final 20 minutes, although two-time ACC player of the year Dawn Staley never found her touch.
"I think you could say Dawn was not herself tonight," said Ryan, who watched her floor leader go 2-for-9 and commit six turnovers.
North Carolina star Tonya Sampson, a first-team All-ACC choice, was worse. Sampson was 3-of-14 on field-goal attempts, missing all seven of shots from 3-point range, and was assessed a technical foul in the first half.
In the other semifinal game, Georgia Tech upset 18th-ranked Clemson 74-73.
The Yellow Jackets, who on Saturday became the first seventh-seeded team to win an ACC Tournament game, made it two in a row on Carmen Davis' driving layup with four seconds left.
Georgia Tech, which made up a 17-point deficit in the final 7:37 to upset Maryland 68-67 Saturday, trailed by eight points Sunday with less than 13 minutes left.
Junior forward Devony Caldwell scored 27 points for the Yellow Jackets (17-12).
by CNB