Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 24, 1991 TAG: 9102240188
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Take the Roanoke College for example.
Saturday night the Maroons shot 33.8 percent from the field and committed 31 turnovers. Yet the Lady Maroons still won the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament championship with a 60-58 victory over Bridgewater on Saturday night at the Salem Civic Center.
"That's what we try to tell everybody," said Roanoke coach Susan Dunagan, who gained her sixth championship in nine ODAC tournaments. "When all else fails, you've got to be there with your defense."
Bridgewater (20-8) shot a little better (37.1) and committed fewer turnovers (22), but the Eagles had to work hard for everything they got.
The Lady Maroons used 11 players in a relentless pressure defense that wore down the Eagles.
When crunch time came in the closing minutes, Roanoke was able to respond, while the weary Eagles couldn't.
"We had some shots down the stretch that wouldn't fall," said Bridgewater coach Laura Mapp. "They have such depth and great defensive pressure. They wore us down."
After Bridgewater erased a 10-point deficit to tie the score at 54 with 4:08 remaining, the Eagles didn't score again until 31 seconds remained.
Roanoke freshman Kay Caldwell, who had missed two free throws 30 seconds earlier, sealed the victory by sinking two free throws to put the Maroons up 60-56 with 16 seconds left.
Caldwell scored Roanoke's final four points, all on free throws after she was fouled while driving to the basket.
"When I missed those second set of free throws, I just wanted to get another chance to prove myself," said Caldwell, who played at Cave Spring High School. "I wasn't thinking about anything [on the drives to the basket]. It was there, so I took it."
Dunagan said she put a freshman into the game during that critical juncture because "at the time I needed some one in there who would have the confidence to shoot the ball, and I knew Kay would do it."
Sophomore guard Amy Saunders, out of Patrick Henry, paced Roanoke's defensive effort with eight steals.
"They all came at critical times," Dunagan said of Saunders' steals. "She really came through in the clutch."
Bridgewater didn't help itself by missing eight of 14 free throws, including the front end of three bonus opportunities.
Donna Cogar paced Roanoke with 16 points, and Jennifer Jones added 12.
Melody Derrow scored 16 for Bridgewater and Jackie Carlton chipped in 12.
Cogar and Derrow were joined on the all-tournament team by Saunders, Roanoke center Karen Jenkins and Bridgewater's Sheila Moser.
Derrow was selected most valuable player, although Roanoke won and Cogar outscored her in the tournament 29-27. Each player had had 15 rebounds.
The game marked the fifth time the teams have met in the ODAC title game, including the last three. Roanoke has a 4-1 advantage.
BRIDGEWATER (58)
Moser 4-11 2-2 10, Weatherholtz 2-5 0-1 4, Derrow 7-22 1-4 16, Carlton 6-12 0-3 12, Hyer 4-6 0-0 8, Hanover 2-8 0-0 4, Lefler 0-2 0-0 0, Dobson 1-4 2-3 4. Totals 26-70 5-13 58. ROANOKE (60)
K. Jones 3-5 1-1 7, Saunders 0-5 5-6 5, Workman 0-2 0-0 0, Caldwell 1-4 4-6 6, J. Jones 6-8 0-0 12, Cogar 6-14 4-7 16, Puch 2-4 0-0 4, Showalter 1-2 0-0 2, D. Jones 1-7 0-0 2, Jenkins 2-13 2-3 6, Puyear 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-65 16-24 60.
Halftime-27-26, Roanoke. Three-point goals-Bridgewater 1-5 (Weatherholtz 0-1, Derrow 1-4), Roanoke 0-4 (Workman 0-2, Caldwell 0-2). Fouled out-Carlton, Hyer. Rebounds-Bridgewater 38 (Derrow 8), Roanoke 59 (Jenkins 13). Assists-Bridgewater 13 (Moser 8), Roanoke 11 (Workman 3). Total fouls-Bridgewater 17, Roanoke 20. Technical-None. A-1,304.
by CNB