Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 10, 1992 TAG: 9203100231
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
DATELINE: ROCK HILL, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
The Cavaliers, who have emphasized the NCAA Tournament from the start of preseason, overcame an 11-point deficit Monday night to defeat Georgia Tech 70-69 at Winthrop Coliseum.
It was the second ACC title for UVa, ranked No. 1 in the country for the past four weeks.
"If it didn't mean as much, we wouldn't have won," UVa's Tammi Reiss said. "A lot of teams would have refocused and said, `Hey, we got the NCAAs to look forward to,' but we really wanted this."
Virginia entered the tournament seeded No. 1, as it had six other times without winning. The Cavaliers' only previous title was in 1990, when they were seeded second.
It looked as if history would repeat itself when seventh-seeded Georgia Tech took a 53-42 lead with 12:49 left, but UVa rallied behind senior guards Reiss and Dawn Staley.
Staley had 17 of her game-high 24 points in the final 11:45, including a pull-up jumper with 1:26 left that was the last basket of the game.
"Considering it was my last ACC game, I didn't want to lose it," said Staley, who also had a game-high seven assists.
"Coming here over the years, we haven't been very successful and I approached it just like a Final Four. We came back just like we did two years ago; that [memory] helped us."
Nevertheless, UVa (29-1) missed two one-and-ones in the final nine seconds, but Georgia Tech failed to capitalize.
Reiss finished with 15 points, nine in the second half, and Heather Burge added 13. Joyce Pierce led Georgia Tech with 17 points and Echols added 14.
Staley was voted the tournament's most valuable player and was joined on the all-tournament team by Reiss, Burge, Pierce and Georgia Tech's Devony Caldwell.
The Yellow Jackets, who had lost all 12 of their ACC Tournament games before this year, dropped to 17-13.
"We came here without a history or a tradition," said Georgia Tech coach Agnus Berenato, whose team had upset nationally ranked Maryland and Clemson in its first two rounds. "I think we established something here this weekend."
Georgia Tech, which trailed by seven points at one time in the first Old Dominion upsets James Madison in Colonial men's final. B7 half, came back to take a 35-33 lead at halftime on a follow shot by Lara Kauffman with 27 seconds left.
The key for the Yellow Jackets was isolating 6-foot center Joyce Pierce against Virginia's taller, less mobile Burge twins, Heather and Heidi. Pierce had 13 points at the half.
As a result, Virginia coach Debbie Ryan abandoned her man-to-man defense for a 1-2-2 zone, with pressure on the perimeter, that the Cavaliers had not practiced leading up to the tournament.
"It was the best thing we ever did," Ryan said, "but that's one thing you can do with a veteran team."
The turning point may have come with a little more than nine minutes left with Georgia Tech, in possession of the ball, looking to build on a 57-48 lead.
Staley stole the ball from Kauffman and not only scored on a breakaway layup, but added a free throw when she was fouled by Carmen Davis. A jumper by Reiss at the 8:27 mark made it 57-53.
The Yellow Jackets twice went on top by six points after that, but when Reiss and Staley made consecutive 3-pointers, the Cavaliers had their first lead (65-63) since early in the half.
"I don't know if I feel relieved," said Ryan, whose players dumped water from a cooler on her after the game. "I'm happy we won, but what I really feel is, we've got other things left to do." GEORGIA TECH (69)
Caldwell 4-7 2-2 10, Echols 7-14 0-1 14, Pierce 8-15 0-1 17, Lounsbury 2-3 0-0 4, Baldwin 2-6 2-2 6, Davis 4-8 2-2 10, Kauffman 4-10 0-0 8. Totals 31-63 6-8 69. VIRGINIA (70)
Evans 2-7 0-0 6, Heidi Burge 5-9 0-0 10, Heather Burge 5-9 3-7 13, Staley 9-15 5-6 24, Reiss 7-15 0-0 15, Wagener 1-7 0-0 2, Beale 0-2 0-1 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-65 8-14 70.
Halftime-35-33, Georgia Tech. Three-point goals-Georgia Tech 1-7 (Pierce 1-1, Caldwell 0-1, Echols 0-1, Lounsbury 0-1, Baldwin 0-1, Davis 0-2), Virginia 4-13 (Evans 2-5, Staley 1-1, Reiss 1-7). Fouled out-Caldwell. Rebounds-Georgia Tech 40 (Caldwell 10), Virginia 36 (Wagener 8). Assists-Georgia Tech 13 (Baldwin 4), Virginia 14 (Staley 7). Total fouls-Georgia Tech 17, Virginia 15. A-4,154.
by CNB