Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 9, 1994 TAG: 9401090081
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
It wasn't about revenge, either, or so the Cavaliers said.
"For me, it was a huge game [and] a huge monkey off my back because they're what stopped us from the dream we had last year," said UVa sophomore Jenny Boucek.
That's not to say that 17th-ranked Virginia's 68-65 victory made up for a loss to the Buckeyes in the 1993 NCAA Tournament, but it helped ease some of the pain.
Ohio State also beat the Cavaliers during last season's inaugural ACC/Big Ten Challenge, 91-84, but mostly the Buckeyes prevented a fourth consecutive trip to the final four for UVa with a 75-73 victory in the East Region final.
"I hurt so bad," Boucek said. "It's not so much that they beat us, but they're still the object that knocked us out and I'll never forget that."
Neither will teammate Amy Lofstedt, whose inbounds pass was tipped away in the closing seconds of last season's second Ohio State game.
"I've had nightmares about that game," Lofstedt said. "I really didn't play well at all. Personally, I wanted to play well tonight and just win. Actually, just win."
Lofstedt achieved both of her goals, finishing with 17 points. She made all eight of her free throws, including a one-and-one with 9.3 seconds left that provided the final margin.
The Cavaliers seemingly had the game in control when Lofstedt hit two free throws with 2 minutes, 55 seconds remaining to make it 61-53, but 15th-ranked Ohio State was just getting started.
The Buckeyes (8-3) hit three 3-pointers before freshman Marlene Stollings was fouled on a 3-pointer and made all three free throws to make it 66-65 with 17.9 seconds left.
Two of the 3-pointers were by high-scoring sophomore Katie Smith, whose attempt to send the game into overtime was long from 3-point range at the buzzer.
"It wasn't a bad look," said Smith, who finished with a game-high 26 points. "It wasn't a great shot, but I just put one up."
Smith scored 16 of her points in the final 11:30, including 10 in a span of 2:30 that erased a 48-43 UVa lead and put the Buckeyes on top 51-50.
UVa scored the next seven points and outscored the Buckeyes 5-2 during a nearly three-minute stretch while Smith was on the bench. The Cavaliers led 59-53 when she returned with 4:47 left.
"I thought she was tired," said Nancy Darsch, Ohio State's coach. "I don't know how long she was out, but around the five-minute mark I knew I wanted her back in the game.
"Virginia was keying so heavily on Katie that sometimes you can confuse a game plan by taking their biggest target away from them."
Smith was the target of some boos by the UVa fans, and the Cavaliers' Wendy Palmer pointed a finger at her after a foul with 8:08 left.
"That was just a little thing in the heat of the battle," Palmer said. "I felt it was a deliberate foul and she tried to take my legs out from under me. She didn't test me again."
Debbie Ryan, UVa's coach, was pleased that Boucek and Charleata Beale made Smith work for her points, but even more important was the Cavaliers' defense on the rest of the Buckeyes.
The only other Ohio State player in double figures was backup center Staci Howard, who finished with 10 points. Starting center Lavona Turner fouled out after scoring two points in 26 minutes.
Neither Turner nor Howard could contain Palmer, who had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Lofstedt contributed 10 rebounds as the Cavaliers dominated the boards 44-30.
"It's something we really pride ourselves on," Ryan said. "We were last year's national [rebounding] champion and that trophy is sitting in our locker room right now."
The Cavaliers (9-2) hit 43.1 percent of their field-goal attempts and had to overcome 26 turnovers, nine in the first 8:46. They did it by hitting 22 of 28 free throws. UVa did not have a field goal in the last 7:41, scoring its last 14 points from the line.
"I feel we put two halves back-to-back and for us that's a major accomplishment," said Ryan, who hasn't forgotten a 71-56 loss to St. Joseph's. "It's monumental. I'm not sure we had a brain before. We might have half of one now."
by CNB