Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 17, 1991 TAG: 9103170042
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
That's the word from Virginia women's coach Debbie Ryan, whose team has had 14 days to stew over its 65-62 loss to Clemson.
It wouldn't be strong enough to say the Cavaliers were disappointed, Ryan said. They were embarrassed.
"Very," she said emphatically. "I think that was the key word, with a capital `E.' "
After the Clemson game, Ryan said she felt sorry for the next five teams in Virginia's path, not realizing that five straight victories would take the Cavaliers through the NCAA championship game.
UVa, which received a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, opens NCAA Tournament play today at 2 p.m. when the Cavaliers play host to Stephen F. Austin of Nacogdoches, Texas.
Stephen F. Austin, ranked 14th in the final Associated Press poll, advanced Wednesday night with a 73-62 victory over Mississippi. The Ladyjacks, so-called because the Stephen F. Austin's men's teams are the Lumberjacks, are 26-4.
It is the fourth straight NCAA appearance and sixth overall for the Ladyjacks. It is the eighth straight appearance for UVa (27-2), which reached the Final Four in 1990 before losing to eventual champion Stanford 75-66 in the NCAA semifinals.
Virginia, ranked No. 1 for all but three weeks this season, dropped to No. 2 behind Penn State in the final poll.
"I think the world of college basketball is still really high on Virginia," Ryan said. "But, obviously, there's some doubt because we're not No. 1 anymore."
That may not be a bad thing, considering the publicity that UVa received leading up to the ACC Tournament. Senior forward Tonya Cardoza was pictured in Sports Illustrated and North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said the Cavaliers were "the UNLV of women's basketball."
"They said nobody would beat us unless we beat ourselves," Ryan said. "It's a little too much."
A good case could be made that UVa did beat itself against Clemson. The Cavaliers shot a season-low 27.1 percent from the field, and, what's worse in Ryan's opinion, they did not use their heads.
"I was so angry at them that I never calmed down," Ryan said. "I'm not sure I coached a very good game. Matter of fact, I'm sure I didn't. The more frustrated I got, the worse they got.
"We had a timeout at the four-minute mark of the first half and I reamed 'em. Then, they went back on the floor and did the same stuff. I must have said 50 times, `What are you doing?' It was like we were in some other time zone."
Still, the Cavaliers had a chance to tie when Tammi Reiss had three free throws with three seconds left.
After Reiss missed the first two free throws, Ryan called a timeout and explained how Reiss would miss her last free throw intentionally and one of UVa's 6-foot-5 Burge twins would tip the ball outside for a score-tying 3-point attempt. Heidi Burge got the rebound, but took the shot herself from inside the arc.
"Her explanation was, `I don't know why I did that,' " Ryan said. "I don't know what got into all of us."
Ryan, unwilling to dismiss the performance as "one of those nights," has taped the statistics sheet to her refrigerator as a reminder of what can go wrong. The Cavaliers made only five field goals in the second half, shooting 16.1 percent.
"For the first time this year, we had three kids on the perimeter who weren't comfortable shooting the ball," Ryan said. "But, they're not calling it a fluke. They're not calling it an unusual night.
"We didn't hit shots, but that's not what lost the game for us. We played horrendously at the defensive end. We didn't play with the passion that we've played with all year."
Ryan said she was pleased to hear that the players had held a players-only meeting after the ACC Tournament.
"Sometimes, when the players hold a players-only meeting, it's about you," Ryan said, "but our first two practices after the Clemson game were our best of the year. I've calmed down a bit. I'm just happy still to be playing."
Ryan said she has seen coaches change their strategy for the NCAA Tournament and change their mental approach as they enter postseason play. She will not.
"This team has never had a problem with confidence," she said. "This isn't the only chance we're going to have the rest of our lives to go to the Final Four."
by CNB