Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 13, 1995 TAG: 9503140073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Virginia, Virginia Tech and Radford will play in the East Region, while Old Dominion goes to the Mideast. Each of the four eventually could be playing one of the top two teams in the national rankings - Connecticut and Tennessee - on the floors of the Huskies or Volunteers.
The Hokies (21-8) start their second NCAA Tournament appearance Thursday night against St.Joseph's (20-8) in Storrs, Conn. The Cavaliers and Radford will play Thursday night in a University Hall doubleheader. UVa (24-4) meets Dartmouth (16-10); the Highlanders (15-14) face 17th-ranked Florida (23-8).
ODU (27-5) opens against Florida International (26-4) in Knoxville, Tenn.
UVa, an upset loser in the ACC tournament after going 16-0 during the league's regular season, got the No.3 seed in the East. Tech is a No.8 seed, just as the Hokies were last year. The Monarchs also are a No.8. Radford, an upset champion in the Big South Conference tournament at home Saturday night, is the East's No.11 seed.
Game times won't be announced until today, but Tech and Radford are expected to play in the first game of Thursday doubleheaders, with UVa playing a nightcap at home.
If the seeds hold true in the 64-team bracket, Radford would have to play UVa at U-Hall on Saturday and the Hokies would be meeting No.1 and unbeaten UConn the same day in Storrs. An ODU victory would mean a date with Tennessee in Knoxville.
And if Virginia reaches the Sweet 16 with two home victories, coach Debbie Ryan's team will be playing the East Regional at UConn.
The Hokies didn't have to wait long to learn of their assignment. When the pairings were revealed Sunday afternoon on ESPN, Tech - which won the Metro Conference regular-season title - was the third team to appear in the brackets.
``They put us out of our misery right away, buddy,'' said Carol Alfano, Tech's coach. ``We didn't have to hold our breath very long.''
However, that also brought the quick realization that should they survive against Atlantic 10 Conference foe-to-be St.Joe's, the perfect Huskies await the Hokies.
``Right now, I know everybody's going, `Oh, you've got to play Connecticut.' Well, we'd be very, very happy just to get a shot'' at UConn, Alfano said. ``We're going into this thing figuring we've played the big dogs all year long, so let's just worry about St.Joe's and winning that ballgame, and then think about somebody else when it comes along.''
The Hawks, coached by Stephanie Gaitley, are making their eighth NCAA trip since 1982. St.Joe's is 3-7 in NCAA play, losing to Old Dominion last year in the first round. Tech lost its first NCAA date last year, at home to Auburn.
While Tech is one of a Metro-record four teams from the folding conference to reach the field, 10th-ranked UVa is one of four from the ACC. The Cavaliers like their NCAA position, despite the ACC tournament stumble. A title might have made Virginia the No.1 seed in the Midwest or No.2 in Tennessee's bracket.
``I'm not upset or worried about being a third seed,'' Ryan said. ``I like what we got, and I like playing tough teams in the first week. This team is a whole lot better when it's challenged, and on the road we will have that.''
UVa, which has played in three Final Fours, shouldn't have much trouble with Dartmouth in the first round. The Big Green reached the field as the Ivy League champion, winning 11 of its past 12 games after a 5-9 start that included some very lopsided losses. Dartmouth, which hasn't been to the NCAA Tournament since losing a play-in game in 1983, plays with patience, averaging 62.5 points per game. The Big Green doesn't have a player averaging as many as 12 points per game.
Florida, one of seven Southeastern Conference teams in the field, finished 7-4 in the nation's toughest women's basketball league. The Gators, going to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year, are tall and have four double-figure scorers, led by forward Merlakia Jones (18.9 points per game).
They will be meeting a Radford team that started 2-9, but one that probably won't be as awed by the NCAA experience after losing by 47 points in a ``Big Dance'' debut at Purdue last year. Lubomyr Lichonczak, the Highlanders' coach, also likes the idea of Radford playing close to home.
``The NCAA is a once-in-a-lifetime dream for most people,'' Lichonczak said. ``It's nice to be able to give our families and fans a chance to share in that. ... Last year, it was all new to the kids. At Purdue, I think we had half of our players taking pictures of the crowd a half-hour before the game.''
Lichonczak has used 14 starting lineups with a veteran club this season, but in winning the school's sixth consecutive Big South women's tournament championship, the Highlanders averaged 81 points per game. Their 11th seed initially seemed high, Lichonczak said, but after hearing NCAA women's basketball committee chairwoman Linda Bruno explain the process on ESPN, he figures the Highlanders got what they earned for playing a solid non-conference schedule.
UConn, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Colorado received No.1 seeds, with Louisiana Tech, Texas Tech, Stanford and Penn State as No.2s. Behind the SEC's seven entrants, the Pacific-10 has five in the field, with the Big Ten and Big Eight joining the ACC and Metro with four each.
The Final Four will be played April 1-2 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The Metro Conference also earned an entry into the eight-team National Women's Inivitational Tournament March 23-25 in Amarillo, Texas. Virginia Commonwealth, which improved from 3-24 last year to 19-8 this season, earned the No.4 seed and will open against No.5 Massachusetts (18-9).
In the other first-round NWIT games, No.1 Texas A&M (18-9) will face No.8 East Tennessee State (20-7), No. 2 Clemson (19-10) plays Northwestern (La.) State (23-6), and No. 3 Notre Dame (19-9) takes on No. 6 Pacific (20-12).
by CNB