Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 31, 1991 TAG: 9103310072
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: NEW ORLEANS LENGTH: Long
She's a big reason - maybe the biggest reason - Virginia is still playing this year.
Cardoza repaid any and all debts Saturday when she made four free throws in the final 17 seconds as Virginia held off Connecticut 61-55 in the NCAA semifinals at the Lakefront Arena.
UVa will play in the championship game for the first time when the Cavaliers (31-2) meet Tennessee (29-5) today at 4:05 p.m. The Lady Vols defeated Stanford 68-60 in Saturday's second game.
Virginia reached the semifinals in 1990, but was beaten by eventual champion Stanford 75-66 as Cardoza, who was academically ineligible, sat home in Brockton, Mass.
"I'm sure my teammates are happy that I'm back and that we're in this position," Cardoza, a fifth-year senior, said. "They've been telling me, `We're going to get back there [the Final Four] for you.' "
And, now, she's taken them one step further.
The Cavaliers, who led by 14 points early in the second half, had seen their lead dwindle to 55-53 when Cardoza went to the free-throw line for a one-and-one with 17 seconds left.
After Cardoza made both free throws, Meghan Pattyson made a pair for Connecticut to make it 57-55 with 17 seconds left. Then, Cardoza made two more free throws with 15 seconds left.
"I actually had a dream [Friday night] about free throws," Cardoza said. "I hit them in the dream and fortunately I was able to make them in the game today."
Cardoza had missed two free throws with 3:01 left and the Cavaliers leading 55-47. She had 12 points in the first half, but was scoreless until making the free throws at the end.
"When we were on the bench [following a timeout] with 23 seconds left, I wanted the ball so I could redeem myself," said Cardoza, who finished with a team-high 16 points.
"As I went to the line, I thought about missing those first two, but I'm a pretty good free-throw shooter [76.5 percent] and I had confidence in myself."
When Dawn Staley swiped a cross-court pass with just under 10 seconds remaining, the verdict was sealed. Staley fed Cardoza, whose layup attempt was tipped in by Melanee Wagener.
Wagener's follow was the only field goal in the last 5 1/2 minutes for Virginia, which shot 26.5 percent in the second half and 35.3 for the game. The Cavaliers made three of 24 shots over a 16-minute stretch.
"If you told me before the game we were going to hold them to 61, I would say we were going to win," said Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma, a former UVa assistant. "I thought our defense did exactly what it was designed to do."
Connecticut's problem was, Virginia's defense also did everything it was designed to do. The Huskies (29-5) shot 38.5 percent for the game and All-America center Kerry Bascom, averaging more than 20 points for the year, was held to 14 by Cardoza.
Bascom managed only two points in the first half, when she picked up two fouls in the first 2:20. She spent several minutes on the bench before getting her third personal with 7:01 remaining before halftime.
"I started backing off a little bit after I got the second one," said Bascom, who had a game-high 14 rebounds. "I took myself out of the game a little bit because I was thinking, `Should I go for the rebound or shouldn't I?' "
After taking a 34-24 halftime lead, Virginia built its advantage to 45-31 when 6-foot-5 Heather Burge scored nine points in the first 3:57 of the second half, including a three-point play with 16:03 remaining.
Other than that, Burge and her sister, Heidi, were not a factor. Heidi Burge was 1-of-6 from the field and the twins combined for as many rebounds, nine, as 5-6 UVa guard Tammi Reiss.
Reiss also contributed 15 points while playing the entire 40 minutes, but national player of the year Staley was just 3-of-16 from the field and suffered a recurrence of the leg cramps that bedeviled her during the postseason in 1990.
Staley had to leave the game several times in the second half and, during one timeout, assistant Shawn Campbell vigorously massaged the back of Staley's calves in order to relieve the pain.
"It started with about 10 minutes left in the game," said Staley, who had eight rebounds and five assists. "But I can overcome something like that for this big of a game."
It was the low scoring output of the season for Virginia, which had been averaging more than 90 points per game. But UVa held its opponent to under 60 for the 11th time.
"They beat us because they're much quicker than we are and they got every loose ball they had to get," Auriemma said. "It's unfortunate you didn't get to see us play as well as we're capable, but maybe that's because of Virginia."
see microfilm for box score
by CNB