Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 30, 1990 TAG: 9003300049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"They said it would never work out, that we could never play together," Reiss said.
Similar skepticism has surrounded UVa's first appearance in the women's Final Four. The Cavaliers (29-5) will play Stanford (30-1) at 7 p.m. at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn. The second semifinal matches Louisiana Tech (32-0) and Auburn (27-6).
Second-ranked Stanford has won 10 games in a row, nine by a margin of 26 points or more. For the season, the Cardinal has an average winning margin of 27.9 points, including eight victories by 40 or more.
Indeed, Stanford's only loss of the season, an 81-78 decision at Washington, was to a team the Cardinal had defeated 102-62 in Palo Alto, Calif.
"They've already written us off, much like they wrote us off last week against Tennessee," said Reiss, a 5-foot-6 sophomore from Eldred, N.Y.
The Cavaliers, beaten three straight times by Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, upset the Lady Vols 79-75 in overtime Saturday to win the East Regional at the Old Dominion Field House in Norfolk, Va. The loss prevented Tennessee from playing in the Final Four on its home court.
"Going into the game, I felt like revenge," Reiss said. "But while I was playing and even after we won the game, it never crossed my mind. It wasn't like, `We got you back.' "
Nevertheless, nothing seems to motivate Reiss like the doubts - actual or perceived - of others. It started when she was a state cross-country champion and decided to de-emphasize running and concentrate on basketball.
"Everybody told me I was much too small to play basketball," she said. "They must be biting their tongues now."
Reiss went on to average 46.6 points as a senior in high school, and she was selected Miss Basketball in New York and voted a first-team Parade All-American.
Reiss said she had wanted to attend Virginia from the seventh grade on, even when the Cavaliers started to recruit Staley, who was to be voted the player of the year in the country by USA Today.
Like Reiss, Staley was a guard. Some would say they both were point guards.
"The day after I committed, I got a call from Dawn," Reiss said. "She said, `I'm considering Virginia. What do you think?' I said, `I think you ought to sign today.'
"Everyone said, `They can never play together. Dawn's a superstar. Tammi's a star. How can Tammi give up some of the spotlight?' I'm not an egotist. I'm not selfish. Dawn is my best friend. It's gone well from the first day."
Reiss starts at point guard for the Cavaliers, with Staley at shooting guard, although Staley occasionally moves to the point. Frequently, freshman Dena Evans takes over at the point, with Reiss going to shooting guard and Staley to a wing.
"People say the hardest positions to recruit for are point guard and center, and I've got three of one and two of the other," said UVa coach Debbie Ryan, who has 6-4 twins Heather and Heidi Burge in the middle.
It helps that neither Staley nor Reiss considers herself a point guard or demands the ball.
"I don't consider myself a natural guard," said Staley, the Philadelphian who, at 5-6, is undersized at any other spot on the floor. "I never think of myself as a point guard. I can remember seeing Tammi for the first time at summer camp, and she was a shooting guard and so was I."
Reiss said, "I'd say Dawn hates point guard more than I do, but we've both changed a lot over the years."
One thing that hasn't changed has been their relationship. Staley, announced as a first-team Kodak All-American on Thursday, has been the more decorated of the two, but Reiss made second-team All-ACC, first-team All-ACC Tournament and first-team All-East Regional.
"I think most of the time, stories will say that `the backcourt leads the Cavaliers,' " Reiss said. "I couldn't have been more pleased with the way things have turned out."
\ Ryan has coached four of Stanford's players at various times.
Senior Jennifer Azzi, the Naismith Award winner and two-time Pacific 10 player of the year, played for Ryan during the 1987 Olympic Festival. Junior guard Sonja Henning and junior center Trish Stevens played for Ryan in the Junior World Qualifying Tournament in 1988, and Henning and sophomore forward Julie Zeilstra played on the 1989 World Junior team.
by CNB