Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 10, 1990 TAG: 9007100200
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LYNCHBURG LENGTH: Medium
They were the players who put their teams in a position to win, and they won the Most Valuable Player awards for the game.
But while Fontaine, the Timesland female athlete of the year out of George Wythe High, came through in the end, Rice, from Gloucester High, came up a bit short.
Fontaine converted a transition layup with a little more than a minute remaining to give her team the lead, and the West held on for a 57-55 victory at Liberty Gym.
Rice had a chance to send the game to overtime, but her last-second shot bounced harmlessly off the rim.
"I was surprised I even made the team," said Fontaine, who scored a game-high 15 points in 14 minutes of play. "I just wanted to make something happen for the team the times I got in. I really wanted to win."
Fontaine's final basket came moments after the East had completed a 16-5 run to erase a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit and take its only lead of the game at 55-54.
Clintwood's Melanie Rasnick made one of two free throws to increase the West lead to 57-55, but the East had one last chance.
With five seconds left, Rice, who scored 11 points and had a game-high four assists, took an inbounds pass under the West basket and started upcourt.
The West offered only token defense, and Rice cut into the paint and got off a layup just before the buzzer.
Unfortunately for Rice and the East, it wasn't to be.
"I just wanted to put it up before the clock ran out," Rice said. "It just wasn't hard enough. I knew it was coming out."
Mistakes by the East, which shot 30.4 percent, allowed the West to take a huge lead in a game that featured 60 turnovers, 54 fouls and 35 missed free throws. But miscues by the West (29.3 percent shooting) put the East right back in the game.
Fontaine, Lynn Holliday of Salem and Karen Williams of E.C. Glass scored seven points each as the West built a 34-23 halftime lead.
The East, rallied outscoring the West 6-0 in the first four minutes of the third quarter.
At the 4:05 mark, the West unit featuring Fontaine and Cave Spring's Kay Caldwell re-entered the game and sparked a run.
Fontaine converted a miss by Caldwell, then made a steal and fed Caldwell for a transition layup. Caldwell was fouled and completed the three-point play to put the West up 39-28.
Caldwell (six points and three steals) quickly returned the favor by making a steal and passing to Fontaine for an easy hoop.
The West led 45-32 after three quarters and 48-38 with 6:03 left in the game, but then they began turning over the ball.
WEST (57)
Rasnick 2-3 1-2 5, C. Williams 0-4 0-0 0, Caldwell 1-9 4-5 6, Fontaine 6-9 3-5 15, Holliday 3-7 1-3 8, K. Williams 3-6 2-5 8, Karl 0-4 1-2 1, Harris 0-1 2-4 2, Schwandt 0-2 2-6 2, Coleman 1-6 2-2 4, Ellis 0-3 4-8 4, T. Williams 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 17-58 22-42 57. EAST (55)
Rice 2-8 7-11 11, Tinsley 0-2 2-2 2, Jackson 0-1 1-6 1, Cook 2-9 1-3 5, Cox 0-2 0-0 0, Hessenaur 1-3 2-2 4, Harlow 1-4 0-0 2, Gayton 1-4 1-2 3, Addesso 5-6 4-7 14, Hart 3-5 1-3 7, Walton 0-2 2-2 2, Woodson 2-10 0-3 4. Totals 17-56 21-41 55. West 14201112-57 East 914923-55
Three-point goals-West 1-10 (Fontaine 0-3, Caldwell 0-3, Holliday 1-4, Karl 0-1); East 0-1 (Rice 0-1). Rebounds-West 45 (Ellis 6); East 58 (Woodson 11). Assists-West 5 (Rasnick 3), East 12 (Tinsley 5).
by CNB