Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502280030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Maroons opted instead to take the inside track in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament championship game.
Inside was where it was at for top-seeded Roanoke, which pulled out a 76-71 victory before a crowd of 800 at the Salem Civic Center.
It was the fifth consecutive ODAC tournament title and 10th overall for the Maroons, who earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament. Pairings will be announced tonight.
Seventh-seeded E&H, which knocked off No.2 Randolph-Macon and No.3 Guilford, was the lowest seed ever to advance to the championship game.
The Wasps (14-13) fell behind by nine points early Saturday when Roanoke mixed up its shot selection. But E&H rallied behind Angie Simpkins to tie the score at 34 at halftime. Simpkins, a 5-foot-1 freshman guard from Christiansburg, scored 10 of her 15 points in the final six minutes of the first half.
At the break, Roanoke coach Susan Dunagan delivered a basic message to the Maroons.
``I told them, `It's simple. Inside is where we have the advantage,''' Dunagan said. ``We did it earlier and got away from it. We stopped rotating, had some turnovers and that got us out of sync.''
The Maroons heeded her advice and took a 57-49 lead midway through the second half. The teams spent much of the half at the free-throw line and E&H lost three players to fouls.
Katie Brann got the Wasps back in it with consecutive 3-pointers that pulled E&H to 72-69 with three minutes to play.
The Wasps cut their deficit to one point before Sallie Lefler fouled Roanoke's Marcee Hufton, an 82 percent free-throw shooter. Hufton's two shots made it 74-71 with 1:30 remaining.
After turnovers by both teams, Brann's next 3-point attempt came up an airball and E&H coach Joy Scruggs called a timeout with 32.8 seconds remaining.
Roanoke kept the ball in the hands of Hufton and senior guard Susan Brown, expecting to be fouled. But E&H set up in its half-court defense and allowed the Maroons to get the ball to Lori Boyd, who made a shot underneath with four seconds left to seal the victory.
Scruggs said she thought there was more time remaining.
``We were hoping to get the ball back or have them mess up,'' she said. ``If we foul, then we're down by more than one possession.''
Hufton and Boyd finished with 15 points each and senior center Crystal Wilson added 13, despite being hampered by an ankle injury.
Ashley McCallum, a former William Byrd High School standout, accounted for much of the Maroons' dominance underneath and scored eight of her 10 points in the second half.
Hufton and Brown were named to the all-tournament team, joining Emory & Henry's Lefler and Brann. Laura Haynes, who scored a tournament-record 41 points for Guilford in a semifinal loss, was named MVP.
EMORY AND HENRY (71)
Lefler 3-8 2-6 8, Simpkins 5-9 4-5 15, Greene 5-11 5-6 15, Brann 6-15 2-5 18, Shoemaker 2-4 3-4, 7, Painter 0-0 2-3 2, Steele 0-3 2-4 2, Martin 1-4 2-2 4, Mumpower 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 22-35 71.
ROANOKE (76)
Malkin 2-5 0-1 4, Brown 1-4 0-0 2, Hufton 5-11 3-3 15, Wilson 4-11 5-10 13, Boyd 5-10 5-8 15, Athey 2-5 1-2 5, Ficarro 2-4 3-4 7, McCallum 4-7 2-5 10, Kennedy 2-3 1-2 5, Bowles 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-60 20-35 76,
Halftime-34-34. Three-point goals-Brann 4, Hufton 2, Simpkins. Total fouls-Emory & Henry 27, Roanoke 26. Fouled out-Lefler, Steele, Shoemaker, Athey.
by CNB