Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103280069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
So, it only stands to reason that Wagener is elated about this year's Final Four, which she enters as a starter and increasingly valuable contributor.
Wagener, who had scored in double figures only five times in 31 games, had 13 points in a career-high 35 minutes Saturday night as the Cavaliers defeated Lamar 85-70 in the championship game of the NCAA Midwest Regional.
"I didn't realize I had played that long," said Wagener, a 6-foot-2 junior. "I've never played 35 minutes before, not even in high school."
Wagener didn't play 35 minutes in a month last year, when she began the season as a starter but wasn't among the Cavaliers' top nine players at the end of the season.
"Last year, there were a lot of different things in my life that I had to deal with, a lot of personal things," Wagener said. "My whole last year was not a very pleasant experience."
At one point, coach Debbie Ryan asked Wagener if she wanted to leave the program.
"She was supremely unhappy," Ryan said. "I told her, `If you don't feel you can do it, let me know.' "
Wagener had received significant playing time as a freshman in 1988-89, but on the night before her final exam, she was involved in a traffic accident in which an elderly pedestrian was killed. Wagener, the driver, hasn't been found guilty of any violations, although litigation continues.
"She struggled for a year with the accident and plummeted in a lot of areas," Ryan said. "But she came back with a different attitude, a much more mature attitude. She was better able to handle stressful situations."
Ryan said there was no sympathy involved in Wagener returning to the starting lineup this season.
"She earned it," Ryan said. "She deserved it. She's one of our smartest players. She gives us a saneness out there."
Nevertheless, Wagener had not received substantial playing time until the tournament. She often was the odd-woman out when Ryan used 6-5 twins Heather and Heidi Burge at the same time.
"I didn't expect the consistency I've gotten from Melanee," Ryan said. "I was expecting her to be up and down and I was going to weather the storms with her. There haven't been any storms. Probably, I haven't been consistent in her substitution."
After averaging 5.5 points and 3.9 rebounds during the regular season, Wagener has contributed 8.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in three postseason games.
"Melanee has been super this whole tournament," Ryan said. "Obviously, Saturday night she was a force in there. Instead of Melanee the role player, she was Melanee the scorer and Melanee the rebounder."
Wagener always had the potential. She was voted Maryland player of the year and was rated one of the nation's top 25 players by USA Today as a senior at South Carroll High in Mt. Airy, Md.
Two years later, she was close to giving up basketball completely.
"If I would done anything as drastic as not playing, I would not have played anywhere," Wagener said. "I would have stopped completely. I wouldn't have transferred anywhere for basketball."
Wagener said she was determined to come back with a better attitude and traced her transformation to a chance meeting at one of her younger sister's softball games.
"A little girl walked up who had the disease [Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome] where you grow old really quickly, and it made me realize I was feeling sorry for myself for nothing," Wagener said. "I wasn't happy the way I was."
In addition to the Burge twins, Virginia returnees included Tekshia Ward, who started the last 20 games of the 1989-90 season at power forward. Ward developed knee problems, but Wagener won the job on her merits.
"She came back with a completely different attitude," Ryan said. "I noticed it right away. She showed a lot more confidence and she was stronger, not because she lifted weights all summer, but because her mental state had changed so much. She just decided she was going to be tougher."
It was a toughness no Nautilus machine could have given her.
by CNB