Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 22, 1993 TAG: 9303220010
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From staff reports
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
RADFORD WOMEN WIN 4TH STRAIGHT TITLE
Shannan Wilkey, the tournament's most valuable player, scored 21 points Sunday as Radford defeated UNC Greensboro 62-57 for its fourth consecutive Big South Conference women's basketball championship.Radford (17-11) beat UNCG, the regular-season champion, in a game delayed eight days because of last weekend's snowstorm and the collapse of the Dedmon Center roof after the semifinals on March 12.
"Once that decision [postponing the game] was made, it was to Radford's advantage for us to come back up here and finish the tournament," said UNCG coach Lynne Agee, who hails from Roanoke.
Wilkey was 8-of-15 from the field and made all five free-throw attempts to help Radford turn a 34-28 halftime deficit into a 13-point lead. The closest the Spartans could get was 60-57 with 39 seconds left in the game.
The teams traded buckets for much of the second half, but Radford took the lead for good after Lisa Howard's basket made it 42-40 with 12:11 left.
Radford increased its lead to 60-47 with six points from Wilkey and eight points from Samantha Gilbert down the stretch. UNCG scored 10 straight points, eight by Micky Haywood on a pair of 3-pointers and a short jumper off a rebound, to make it 60-57.
Wilkey was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 13 seconds remaining for the final margin of victory.
Radford coach Lubomyr Lichonczak gave his team's defense the credit.
"If our defense is working, we're a good ball club," he said. "We play at the level of our defense and it gives us the momentum at the other end."
Gilbert finished with 12 points for Radford. Tammie Crown, the Big South Player of the Year for the regular season, was held to nine points and six rebounds.
Haywood scored 15 points to lead UNC Greensboro (19-10). Vickie Henson, Tina Wilson and Jo Zerger each added 10.
The Big South Conference, which did not receive an automatic NCAA Women's Tournament bid this year, received special permission from the NCAA to conduct the title game during the NCAA Tournament.
Wilkey and Crown each made the all-tournament team, along with Haywood and Henson of UNCG. Also making the team was Ginny Coleman of Liberty.
Wilkey and Crown also were first-team selections for the conference's regular-season all-star team, and Agee shared the Coach of the Year honor with Rick Reeves of Liberty. Henson, Danielle Barry of Towson State and Missy Quille of Maryland-Baltimore County rounded out the first team.
Lisa D. Mickey of the Greensboro News & Record contributed information to this story. \
see microfilm for box score