Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503130091
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
Jenny Goode scored all 13 of her points in the second half Saturday to lift Radford to 68-63 victory over UNC Greensboro in the Big South tournament championship game at the Dedmon Center.
The championship was the sixth in a row for the third-seeded Highlanders and the fifth for Radford coach Lubomyr Lichonczak. Lichonczak is 16-0 in Big South tournament play.
Radford also earned its second straight NCAA Tournament trip. The Highlanders lost to Purdue in the first round last year.
``I never had a doubt,'' Lichonczak said of defeating top seeded UNCG in the final for the third consecutive year. ``We gear everything toward this. This is what everything is about, it is so much fun.''
With Radford trailing 39-29, Goode sparked a 10-2 Highlanders run with a steal and layup. In the next 4:12 Radford made 10-of-12 field-goal attempts to slice the Spartans' lead to 47-45.
The UNCG lead held until Goode canned a free throw with 3:54 remaining to put Radford ahead for good at 58-57. From that point on, Radford hit 6-of-7 free-throw attempts, including four by Lisa Howard in the last 20 seconds.
In the second half, the Highlanders converted 15 of 17 attempts from the free-throw line. The Spartans connected on 10 of 21 free-throw attempts in the second half and were 2-of-5 on the front end of one-and-one attempts.
``It seemed like we had control up by 10,'' said UNCG coach Lynn Agee, a Roanoke native. ``But down the stretch they picked it up, and their pressure rattled us. In a final game you have to hit free throws. We lost this game at the line.''
In the opening minutes, Radford appeared to have things going its way. The Highlanders hit 7 of 9 field-goal attempts in the first 7:51 to grab a 19-7 lead.
Alisa Moore then took over, scoring six straight points, all on layups, and controlling the boards. In the first half, Moore collected 10 rebounds, four of which came on the offensive boards. In the last 8:46 seconds of the first half, Radford was 0-for-11 from the field and turned over the ball five times.
Former Christiansburg High School star Rebecca McNeil was the leading scorer for the Highlanders with 14. Goode, Howard and Dede Logemann were the Radford representatives on the all-tournament team.
``This is awesome,'' McNeil said. ``When we were down we just had to reach down and pull it from inside of us.''
Moore, who was named MVP, and Jai Cole led the Spartans with 13 points apiece, and both were named to the all-tournament team.
by CNB