Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 16, 1992 TAG: 9201160174
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
UVA WOMEN LOSE 67-65
For the first time in a long time, Virginia's women's basketball team came up against an opponent it couldn't run away from.The Cavaliers got into a race with ACC rival Maryland and finished second in a 67-65 thriller on Wednesday night in front of a near-capacity crowd of 8,662 fans at University Hall.
Unable to outsprint the third-ranked Terrapins, Virginia lost its perfect record and probably the No. 1 ranking in the country.
Maryland (13-1, 3-0 in ACC) used a quick attack to stake big leads in both halves, and then held on during a frantic finish to deal Virginia (13-1, 3-1) its first setback.
"The difference in the game? . . . Two points," Maryland coach Chris Weller said. "We're a running team. That's our style. We decided we weren't going to change that for Virginia or anybody else."
Trailing 66-56, Virginia put on a furious rally in the final five minutes. Behind Heather Burge, who scored a game-high 29 points, the Cavaliers cut the margin to 67-65 with 1:58 left.
UVa had five possessions in the final two minutes but couldn't get the tying basket.
With about seven seconds left, Dawn Staley (11 points) had her layup attempt blocked by Jesse Hicks. Dena Evans picked up the loose ball, but her 3-point attempt was short at the buzzer.
"We played a very unintelligent game," Virginia coach Debbie Ryan said. "I haven't seen this lack of intelligence from this team since they were freshmen. Maryland deserved to win. They outplayed us. They outhustled us. They out everythinged us.
"Sometimes you've got to take one to get their attention."
Getting blitzed in a dash, Virginia changed the contest from a sprint to a distance run.
Changing from a man-to-man defense to a match-up zone slowed the fast-breaking Terrapins and enabled the Cavaliers to trim a 14-point deficit to 34-32 at the half.
"We both like to run," Weller said, "but we both had a zone ready as a backup. Our goal was to not make it be us first."
The zone allowed Virginia to free up things inside for Heather Burge and her twin, Heidi (12 points), but it slowed down Staley and backcourt mate Tammi Reiss, who prefer a faster pace.
Virginia shot 38 percent (27-for-71.) Reiss, who averages more than 15 points, scored just seven on 2-for-12 shooting.
Maryland was led by Limor Mizrachi's 16 points, while Maliss Boles scored 15, Jesse Hicks 13 and Michele Andrew 12. \
see microfilm for box score