Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 21, 1994 TAG: 9403200131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-5 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Short
Virginia, which trailed 31-30 at halftime, rallied from a four-point deficit in the second half.
Freshman Tora Suber scored 19 points and sophomore Wendy Palmer added 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Cavaliers (27-4), who advance to a Mideast quarterfinals game against either George Washington or Southern California on Thursday in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Cavaliers held Bears leading scorer Melody Howard to seven points in the second half. The 5-foot-9 senior guard, who averaged 19 points, scored 16 in the first half, including two 3-pointers.
The Bears smothered UVa with tenacious defense. Southwest Missouri State forced the Cavs into 20 turnovers, 13 in the first half.
SMSU took a 9-8 lead when Howard was left alone in the left corner for a long jumper. UVa went on an 8-2 run to regain the lead with 10 minutes, 40 seconds remaining in the half. Then the Cavs committed three fouls and Howard made consecutive jumpers to pull the Bears back to 16-15.
Palmer scored six straight to give UVa its biggest lead of the half at 22-17, but Howard made a driving layup and a 3-pointer from the right side to make it 24-22.
Howard was left alone in the right corner and made a 3-pointer that tied the score at 28-28 with 2:35 to play. One minute later, Tina Robbins converted from the same spot to give the Bears a 31-28 lead.
by CNB