Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993 TAG: 9303270241
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
Today, they're breaking out the salve. If it works, the Cavaliers will reach the Final Four of the NCAA women's basketball tournament.
The wound is Ohio State's 91-84 nationally televised victory over then-No. 5 Virginia on Jan. 2 in Columbus, Ohio. The reason UVa gets to unlock its medicine cabinet: The teams play at 11 a.m. today in the East Region final at the Richmond Coliseum in a game on ESPN cable. The winner goes to Atlanta on April 3.
Virginia (26-5), the region's second seed, used its size to batter Georgetown 77-57 in one East Region semifinal Thursday. In Thursday's other game, Ohio State (26-3) pulled away from Western Kentucky in the last 10 minutes and won 86-73.
Ohio State's victory over UVa came three days after the Cavs lost to now-No. 1 ranked Vanderbilt in a tournament at Hilton Head, S.C. The loss to Ohio State dropped UVa's record to 8-2 and ripped the pretenses from the '92-93 Cavs: No longer were they the Virginia of Dawn Staley and Tammi Reiss.
"We just wanted to be Virginia," UVa guard Dena Evans said. "Losing that game kind of took us back to ground zero. It let us kind of find ourselves."
First, they were exposed on CBS.
"A lot of people at the time didn't believe we were that great of a team," forward Charleata Beale said, indicating UVa knew it didn't provide a dissenting argument. "I hear grief about it. It's one game I really remember."
Ohio State coach Nancy Darsch said she thinks the teams' first game forced UVa to find players other than Evans and Heather Burge to contribute.
"I think that has happened," she said.
UVa coach Debbie Ryan said that game brought better communication and better chemistry to the Cavs, and it taught her how to use this year's players. Now, she said after Thursday's regional victory, "I'm looking forward to seeing how far we've come at this point."
Not that third-ranked Ohio State, seeded No. 1 in the East, has stalled. The Buckeyes have won 12 straight games and have two strong senior guards and a freshman, Katie Smith, whom Ryan calls "one of the best players to ever play the game."
Smith had 35 points against Virginia in January, making eight of 12 field goals and 15 of 18 free throws to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
"I doubt that will happen again," Smith said.
Beale, who got in foul trouble guarding Smith the first time, hopes not. Having seen Smith justify her reputation, Beale comes at it differently now.
"I went into that game thinking I was going to stop Katie Smith instead of containing her," Beale said. "This time, I'm working on containing her."
Ryan wants Smith kept off the free-throw line - she averages six attempts per game - but even that may not be the key for Virginia today. Ryan said in the first game Ohio State's pressure on the ball - from guards Audrey Burcy and Averrill Roberts - put a leash on UVa's offense.
On Thursday, Burcy tied Staley's East Region record for steals in a game with six; she will try preying on UVa's Evans today. Ohio State forced 27 Virginia turnovers in their first meeting.
"I don't know how well they can get into their offense without her starting it," Burcy said.
Evans knows it's coming, and she said it helps that UVa has faced pressure teams in their first two tournament games.
Evans, as usual, will be feeding Virginia post players Heather and Heidi Burge and Wendy Palmer, the opponents' main concerns as usual. The Burges combined for 47 points and 22 rebounds against Ohio State earlier.
"[We have to be] aggressive, put pressure on the ball, team defense and boxing out," Darsch said about defending inside.
The Buckeyes might wing things from the perimeter. Ohio State has attempted 56 more 3-pointers than Virginia in two fewer games. Smith and Roberts are the most accurate; Smith made four of six against Virginia, and the Buckeyes were 9-for-19 that day.
Ohio State shot 50.9 percent Jan. 2 and is one of two teams (Vanderbilt is the other) to make at least half its shots against UVa this year. Ohio State's 91 points were the most scored against Virginia until Maryland got 103 in the triple-overtime ACC Tournament final.
Yet Ryan swears Virginia is different now.
"We were tested [defensively] quite a bit in the ACC Tournament," she said. "Having to play two overtime games back-to-back really gave us some good tournament experience. It put us in a situation where we had to stop people."
In none of those games, however, was Virginia's hunger quite like this.
"They kind of embarrassed us on national TV," Evans said. "That's something we haven't forgotten about."
by CNB