Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9403200160
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Pumped-up freshman point guard Tora Suber scored 19 points as 10th-ranked Virginia slipped past Southwest Missouri State 67-63 in the second round of the Mideast Regional at University Hall.
The Cavaliers, seeded third, earned a spot in the Mideast Regional quarterfinals Thursday in Fayetteville, Ark., against second-seeded Southern California, a 76-72 winner over George Washington late Saturday.
This is the eighth consecutive year the Cavs have advanced to the NCAA's Sweet 16.
"I thought if I was pumped up and psyched up on the court, everyone else would follow," said Suber, the ACC's freshman of the year. "I just didn't want to get too uptight."
The attitude and performance are what Virginia coach Debbie Ryan has come to expect from Suber, a 5-foot-7 guard who also had three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot.
"I knew she was going to be a good player, but I didn't know how good until she was put in a pressure situation," Ryan said.
Suber scored six points in a 12-0 run in the second half, when the Cavaliers turned a four-point deficit into a 46-38 lead with 10 minutes, 43 seconds remaining.
The Bears, seeded sixth, clawed their way back to two points down on a driving layup by Melody Howard at the 7:13 mark.
Howard, a 5-9 senior guard, scored 16 points in the first half, including two 3-pointers, but she was held without a basket in the second half until the layup that made it 50-48.
UVa opened the lead to eight points with three minutes to play before Howard and Tina Robbins combined for nine points in the next minute to make it 62-59.
The Bears had a chance to tie it with 28 seconds remaining and the score 64-61, but Howard's 3-point attempt from the right side bounced off the back of the rim.
"Basically, Coach [Ryan] said to stay in [Howard's] face," said Charleata Beale, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for UVa. "In the second half, we had to play in-your-face defense. I tried to stick to her and get on her nerves."
The strategy worked.
"They were just sticking to me all the time," Howard said. "Plenty of times I had my jersey sticking out of my shorts. That shows you what a good job they did."
Pressure was the name of the game in the first half, when the Bears (24-6), the Missouri Valley Conference champions, sicked their tenacious defense on the Cavaliers. Southwest Missouri State forced the Cavs (27-4) into seven turnovers in the opening six minutes and 13 by halftime, when the Bears led 31-30.
Southwest Missouri's scoring defense ranks 14th in the nation. Deservedly so, Ryan said.
"We knew it was going to be a physical game and we would have to do a good job taking care of the basketball because they have what some people call the best defense in the nation," said Ryan, who has guided the Cavaliers to 11 consecutive NCAA appearances.
Sophomore Wendy Palmer finished with a team-high 21 points and 15 rebounds for UVa. Palmer scored six in a row to give UVa its biggest first-half lead, 22-17.
Howard, who averages a team-high 19 points, had 23 for Southwest Missouri.
Robbins finished with 19 points despite spending about 10 minutes in the locker room after a mid-court collision that required 10 stitches under her left eye. Her 3-pointer put the Bears ahead 31-28 with 1 1/2 minutes to go in the first half and thrilled the approximately 1,000 fans who made the trip from Springfield, Mo.
LaTanya Davis and Howard each had seven rebounds for the Bears, who were outrebounded 46-35.
"The rebounding part of the game was critical, and they got the big rebounds when they needed to," said Cheryl Burnette, Southwest Missouri's coach. "We still think this team could have beaten this Virginia team on any given night."
by CNB