
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 24, 1995                   TAG: 9501240104
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

TECH WOMEN MAKE THEIR MARK IN POLL

First it was Old Dominion in Norfolk, then it was Virginia in Charlottesville. Now, Virginia Tech is giving the western part of the commonwealth something to crow about in women's basketball.

Virginia Tech played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time last season, and the Hokies reached another milestone Monday when they broke into The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time.

They claimed the No.25 spot in the voting by a nationwide media panel, which made Connecticut No.1 for the second consecutive week.

``It's exciting,'' said coach Carol Alfano, in her 17th season. ``It's a pat on the back for our players and our coaching staff.

``But February is the critical month, no question. It doesn't matter what you do in December, if you don't do the job in February, you're back out.''

Virginia Tech, which set a school record for victories in going 24-6 last season, was 14-4 and had a seven-game winning streak after Monday night's 68-54 victory over James Madison in Blacksburg. The streak began after a 57-52 loss to No.3 North Carolina at Cassell Coliseum and includes a 69-62 victory over Virginia, which had beaten the Hokies 11 consecutive times.

Alfano said staying close with North Carolina, the 1994 NCAA champion, helped her team's confidence.

``We were leading in that game. If we hit the front end of three one-and-ones, we win the game,'' she said. ``Our players realized then that foul shooting could win a game.

``Against Virginia, the kids made their free throws. We were 23-of-25 on free throws and that won the game for us.''

Four senior starters form the heart of Alfano's team.

Jenny Root, a 6-foot-3 center and a first-team All-Metro Conference selection last season, leads the Hokies with a 15.7-point scoring average. The other senior starters are 5-10 Christi Osborne (12.8 points), 6-1 Angela Donnell (8.5) and 5-9 Lisa Leftwich (6.6). They were 10-18 as freshmen and 20-8 as sophomores, then led Tech to its record-setting 1993-94 season, which included the school's first Metro Conference tournament title.

``They came in as freshmen and got their tails kicked a little bit,'' Alfano said. ``But they worked hard, did a good job and stayed together. ... It's one of those things where nobody abandoned ship.

``They were in the right place with the right system. They just needed to get better and they did.''

Virginia Tech is one of three new teams in the poll - the first time this season there have been more than two newcomers. Oklahoma State, which was ranked the first four weeks last season, came in at No.23, and Oregon, in the poll for the first time since 1991, is No.24.

Both got the voters' attention with victories over ranked teams, Oklahoma State knocking off then-No.15 Kansas and Oregon beating then-No.13 Washington.

Connecticut moved to the top of the poll last week after its victory over Tennessee on ESPN and followed that with two easy victories.

The Huskies (15-0) received all 32 first-place votes and 800 points. Tennessee (17-1) remained second with 767 points, and third-ranked North Carolina (18-0) had 730.

(Poll in Scoreboard. B2)

by CNB