Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 3, 1991 TAG: 9103030134
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So Saturday, when the Lady Maroons made their second appearance, they knew they had a few things to prove.
This time Roanoke left no room for anyone to doubt the validity of their bid.
Amy Saunders and Karen Jenkins each scored 18 points as the Lady Maroons ran by Marymount 86-66 in an NCAA South Regional game at the Bast Center.
In the sectional round Friday, Roanoke, which is 27-1 and ranked eighth in Division III, will play the winner between Wartburg, Iowa, (20-6) and Luther (17-8). The Lady Maroons, seeded No. 1 in the South, will find out today if they were selected as the host team for the sectionals to be played March 8-9.
"Getting over this first hump is a great feeling, but we're not thinking about stopping here," said Roanoke coach Susan Dunagan, who didn't try to hide her exuberance. "We'll have a lot of confidence going into the next round. We've definitely showed people we belong and that we can compete at this level."
It was a typical Roanoke performance - stifling defense that forced 23 turnovers, depth that wore down the opponent and clutch performances from a variety of players.
"As usual, our bench and defenses came through for us," said Dunagan. "We had a lot of different people take charge for us today."
Roanoke got 37 seven points from the Joneses - Jennifer, Debby and Kristie, who are not related.
After missing her first five shots, Jenkins scored 10 points in final five minutes of the first half to pace Roanoke on a 19-6 run that turned a four-point deficit into a 40-31 halftime lead.
The Lady Maroons kept up the pressure and went ahead 50-35 two minutes into the second half.
Marymount, however, wasn't about to let Roanoke turn the game into a rout. Behind Karen Still, who scored 12 points, the Saints came back over the next eight minutes, pulling to 63-58. But the comeback took its toll.
Three times Marymount, the Capital Conference champion from Arlington, had a chance to cut further into the lead but didn't.
Jenkins sank a 15-footer, and Saunders scored a transition layup to put the Maroons up 67-58. Again the Saints came on, but they again faltered at the threshold.
With 7:26 left, Marymount trailed 67-62 and had possession of the ball. But Denise Wolf missed badly on a 17-footer.
Roanoke pushed the ball up court, and Saunders whipped a pass inside to Jennifer Jones, who scored and was fouled. She completed the three-point play to put the Maroons up by eight.
Saunders made a steal, got fouled and converted two free throws. Then after Still made a free throw, Jennifer Jones banked in a jumper and Saunders put in another layup off transition that put Roanoke up 76-63 with 5:15 left.
Then the Maroons tightened the defense and held Marymount to three points the rest of the way. Roanoke made 10 of 13 free throws down the stretch.
"We consider ourselves finishers," said Jennifer Jones, who scored 15 points. "We want to complete the whole game."
Roanoke's surge at the end of first half turned out to be the difference in the game.
"We noticed that toward the end of the first half they were starting to tire," said Dunagan. "We knew right then we had to go after them. We just caught fire. I was surprised they got tired. I thought they would be able to go with us."
Marymount had to make too many comebacks against an extremely aggressive Roanoke defense. When the Saints needed that final wind down the stretch, they couldn't find it.
"That happens all the time," said Marymount coach Bill Finney. "When you fight back to get close, you have to have the mental toughness to take it a step further. [Roanoke] responded well each time."
see microfilm for box score
by CNB