Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, September 5, 1993 TAG: 9309050259
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: FLOYD LENGTH: Medium
They made up for the oversight Saturday night.
After sending the game into overtime with a 12-foot follow shot at the end of regulation, Blacksburg's Mary Thorn hit a gutsy 3-pointer in overtime to give the Indians a 60-58 victory.
The game provided a fitting climax to the Floyd County Tip-Off Tournament, a season-opening event that pitted three of Timesland's top four teams.
"This was a tough one to lose," said Floyd head coach Allen Cantrell, whose Buffaloes just missed knocking off their second higher-rated team in a week.
Floyd (2-1), ranked fourth in Timesland, beat No. 1 Lord Botetourt on Wednesday. Blacksburg was ranked third last week.
None of the other games was as good as the finale of the round-robin tournament, as Blacksburg (2-1), the defending Group AA state champion, rallied from an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
Thorn, the Indians' senior point guard, helped the Blacksburg effort by sinking two fourth-quarter 3-pointers.
With 6.1 seconds to play, the Indians, who never led in regulation, had the ball trailing 53-51. After a timeout, Lisa Price launched a high-arcing 3-pointer that bounced off the rim. Thorn grabbed the rebound in the lane, tossed up a shot and watched it rattle around the rim before dropping in at the buzzer, tying the score.
"I was in the right place at the right time," said Thorn, who scored 17 points. "I didn't think it was going in."
Blacksburg scored the first six points of overtime, the last three on Thorn's third and final 3-pointer with 1:44 to play.
When Thorn took the shot, "I could've killed her," said Blacksburg head coach Mickey McGuigan. "Then it went in, and suddenly I loved her again. At least it was a shot that came out of our offense."
The Buffaloes still had life. They whittled the margin to 60-58 on a Cherie Quesenberry free throw, then got the ball back after Blacksburg missed a one-and-one with 12.1 seconds left.
Leigh-Ann Pursifull, who had powered Floyd to its biggest lead in the fourth period with a couple of acrobatic follow shots, missed a 3-pointer, grabbed the rebound and was off on a desperation try at the buzzer.
The Buffaloes seemingly were in good shape when Melissa Cantrell sank a 3-pointer to give Floyd a 52-49 lead with 1:34 to play.
Blacksburg made it 52-51 on Kelly Aldridge's layup, then Monica Lucas made one of two free throws on the other end. That set up Thorn's regulation heroics.
Price led all scorers with 18 points and Meredith Braine finished with 13 for Blacksburg. Lynette Nolley, who was in foul trouble most of the night, fouled out with 13 points to lead Floyd. Pursifull scored 12, and Cantrell and Brennen O'Neil each added 10.
In the opening game, Lord Botetourt (2-1) overlapped the first and second quarters with a 25-0 run as the Cavaliers trounced Patrick County 67-26, the Cougars' third lopsided defeat of the tournament.
Lord Botetourt's relentless full-court pressure buried the Cougars early. Patrick County (0-3) hit its first two shots to lead 4-3, then didn't make another field goal the rest of the half. Botetourt led 38-8 at the halftime and increased its lead to 47 points in the fourth period.
Jenny Gates scored a game-high 24 points for Lord Botetourt and Ashley Moore added 13. Amy Nelson scored 10 for Patrick County, which had 39 turnovers. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB