Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Medium
Unfortunately for Root and Virginia Tech, the one miss came at the worst possible time Friday.
Tech's best player blew an uncontested layup with 24 seconds left, enabling Southern Mississippi to escape with a 67-66 upset in the semifinals of the Metro Conference women's basketball tournament at Commonwealth Convention Center.
``I blew the game, no question,'' said Root, her eyes welling with tears. ``We made a perfect play to get me the ball, and I missed the shot. There's no excuse. I just blew it.''
Trailing by one, Tech (21-9) got the ball where it wanted - down low and in the normally reliable hands of the league's player of the year. Root went up, shot the ball a tad too hard, and it caromed off the rim.
After the Golden Eagles' Shell Joseph missed the front end of a one-and-one with 18 seconds left, the Hokies brought the ball up court and called a timeout with nine seconds left.
But on the inbounds play, Tech senior Christi Osborne was knocked down by a Southern Miss player while going for Terri Garland's pass, allowing Joseph to come up the steal.
``I thought we had to make a call there,'' Tech coach Carol Alfano said. ``Christi's on the ground, the ball's going the other way, there's got to be a call.
``The official said the ball was in the air, so there was no possession. So that means you can knock anybody down going for a loose ball?''
With six seconds remaining, Root fouled Joseph, who went to the line and missed another front end of a one-and-one situation. Root grabbed the rebound and passed the ball to Garland, who raced it upcourt to Osborne. The sharpshooting Tech forward got a good look at a desperation 3-pointer, but it clanged off the rim at the final horn.
The loss sent the top-seeded Hokies home, where they will wait and hope for an NCAA Tournament bid when the field is announced Sunday.
``Everyone keeps telling us we're in,'' Alfano said. ``We're 21-8, and it's a one-point loss to a very good club on a neutral floor. I think we're going somewhere. It may effect where we get seeded. We certainly won't be at home like last year.''
Tech never felt at home against No.4 seed Southern Miss (20-8), which will face the Tulane-Louisville winner in tonight's 9:30 p.m. title game at Freedom Hall.
The Golden Eagles' speed, led by quicksilver guards Nedra Hosey and Patricia Nash, more than made up for their lack of size. Hosey and Nash, both first-team All-Metro performers, combined to score all but 20 of Southern Mississippi's points.
``We like to run,'' said Hosey, who had 24 points. ``We come off the bus running. In fact, we ran all the way up here from Mississippi.''
The Golden Eagles' offense is simple. Give the ball to either Hosey or Nash and let them race toward the basket.
``Their speed kills us,'' Alfano said. ``We don't have anybody who can match that.''
Still, Tech can only blame itself. The Hokies had several chances but couldn't convert.
``We had our shots to win,'' Osborne said. ``The [no-call] on me didn't cost us the game. There were so many other things we didn't do.''
Such as handle the ball (24 turnovers) and shoot free throws (12-of-21).
Root paced Tech with 20 points and had 13 of the Hokies' 57 rebounds. Angela Donnell had 15 points, Lisa Leftwich 12 and Osborne 11.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB