Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 3, 1994 TAG: 9404030215
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD and ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
During halftime of the Crimson Tide's loss in a women's NCAA Tournament semifinal at the Richmond Coliseum, Alabama's Kodak All-American suffered a cut on her hand that required seven stitches and a bulky bandage.
Johnson said she cut her right hand "on the sink . . . the knob on top of it is pretty sharp."
"I hit my hand against something just barely, and it had a sharp corner," she said.
Did she strike the sink because she was upset that Alabama trailed by six points at halftime?
"Not frustration. More out of excitement," she said, noting the Crimson Tide had cut into what had been a 13-point deficit.
Tom Loughran, team doctor for Final Four host Virginia Commonwealth, said he gave Johnson a shot to numb the area between the middle and ring fingers of her right hand after closing the wound, which ran from the webbing between the fingers to the back of her hand.
Rick Moody, the Crimson Tide's coach, was in disbelief.
"We were excited at halftime about our opportunity," he said. "Then we had to start the second half without a Kodak All-American on the floor. That's pretty difficult to overcome."
Johnson missed 4 1/2 minutes of the second half and said she couldn't feel her fingers for a while after she came back. She threw away a pass the first time she touched the ball and scored six points in the second half.
"I've never really been hurt," Johnson said. "I would not have played in a normal situation."
\ COMEBACK: Louisiana Tech was 6-3 entering January but has not lost a game in 1994.
"We did quit in December," said Leon Barmore, the Techsters' coach. "That's the whole thing about building our team from December to now, trying to teach the kids how to work through being tired and work through adversity."
\ SHOOTER: Alabama's Betsy Harris, the Southeastern Conference's top 3-point shooter, is scheduled to participate in the National Women's Three-Point Shooting Championship today at Winthrop College in Rock Hill, S.C. The event is held in conjunction with the men's Final Four, in Charlotte, N.C.
\ DUNK UPDATE: No, there still hasn't been a dunk in the women's Final Four, but there was one expectant moment Saturday. With two minutes left in the first half, North Carolina's Charlotte Smith grabbed a loose ball and glanced downcourt to see 6-foot-5 Sylvia Crawley was headed to the basket alone. But Smith fumbled the ball, bringing a collective "Awwwww" from the crowd at the Richmond Coliseum.
\ BORN TO BE BLUE?: Marion Jones might be wearing North Carolina blue, but don't let that fool you. The freshman's attitude is far from gloomy. On Saturday, Jones was smiling even when she was called for traveling.
"I've been going to bed with a smile and waking up with a smile all week," she said. "The coaches are emphasizing that we should be having fun this week. . . . I usually am smiling, but when I need to, I can get down to business."
\ NUMBER CRUNCHING: Saturday's attendance of 11,966 was the fifth highest ever for the semifinal round and brings the tournament's total attendance to a record 268,528. The tournament expanded this year from 40 to 64 teams. . . . The 18 rebounds by Louisiana Tech's Racquel Spurlock equalled the semifinal record held by Clarissa Davis of Texas (1986) and Cindy Brown of Long Beach State (1987 ). . . . Four blocked shots by Alabama's Yolanda Watkins tied the semifinal record set by Heather Burge of Virginia in 1991 against Tennessee. . . . North Carolina's 15-point margin of victory is the largest in a semifinal since Louisiana Tech's 71-55 victory over Old Dominion in 1983 and the fifth-largest margin of victory in semifinal history.
\ ETC: Louisiana Tech is 39-10 in the NCAA Tournament, including 8-1 in its past nine games . . . Louisiana Tech won the only previous meeting with North Carolina, 80-59 in 1984-85. . . . There have been four longer Louisiana Tech winning streaks than the current 25-game stretch. The Techsters won 54 in a row from 1980-82 (broken by Old Dominion); 32 in a row in 1989-90; and 30 in a row during 1982-83.
by CNB