Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 14, 1995 TAG: 9503140105
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
If any of the Highlanders were foolish enough to have made plans for spring break, their victory Saturday in the Big South Conference tournament canceled them.
Instead of sun and surf for RU players, it's more hoops.
Their come-from-behind win in the finals sends the Highlanders to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year.
"I told the girls it was tournament time and everybody was going to have to step and play better," said coach Luby Lichonczak after the win.
Florida will still be on the minds of Radford, though. Instead of going there, RU (15-14) meets the University of Florida (23-8) in the NCAA first round Thursday.
The team gathered at BT's in Radford to watch the announcement of the pairings. A loud cheer went up when RU's first-round foe was announced, in part because many of the Highlanders thought they would also get a trip to the Sunshine state.
Instead, RU gets to make a sojourn to Charlottesville for the sub-regional. Though the Highlanders can't play on the beach, the site works in their favor from a basketball perspective. They get a short trip to a place where they've already played this season.
"It is the greatest feeling in the world [to win], especially your senior season," said Jenny Goode, RU's leading scorer.
RADFORD'S WINNING the Big South tournament is even more of a tradition than Radford's being the host of the tournament.
RU has served as host for six of nine tournaments since league play began in the 1986-87 season. But it has won the post-season event eight times. The only time it failed to win the tournament was in 1988-89 when it upset by Campbell 58-53, in Radford.
Of course, it doesn't seem to matter where the tourney is held. RU is 5-for-6 (14 wins in 15 games) in tournaments it has hosted and 3-for-3 (seven wins without a loss) in tournaments held in North Carolina.
THIRD SEED AGAIN was to the Highlanders' liking. But unlike last year, RU had been swept by the top two teams in the league during regular season play: UNC Greensboro and Towson State.
Radford had a losing regular-season record against both teams since they joined the Big South. It was 1-5 against second-seed Towson State, including 1-2 at the Dedmon Center, the only conference team with a winning record there. It was 1-4 against conference regular season champ UNCG.
But the Highlanders beat them on back-to-back nights. They routed Towson 90-73, then came from 10 points down in the second half to turn back Greensboro 68-63.
"This is awesome," said freshman forward Rebecca McNeil, who is from Christiansburg. "When we were down we just had to reach down and pull it from inside ourselves."
When it got to the finals, Radford did have history on its side. UNCG has won the regular season crown before, only to lose to RU in the finals.
And the last two years, there has been an NCAA bid on the line.
NOT EVERYTHING WORKED like clockwork for RU though, including the clock.
The control for the scoreboard clock broke before last Thursday's evening session. The count-up/count-down selector stuck and then broke off in the count-up mode, meaning the clock would start at zero and then show how much time had elapsed.
It took about half an hour to bring out the backup unit and hook it up, only to find out it didn't work with the scoreboard.
Luckily, the control panel was fixed by that time and the games got under way.
The delay prompted Lichonczak to remark: "You can start now, I'm here." RU was supposed to play at 8 p.m. and Lichonczak was entering the arena at about what should have been halftime of the 6 p.m. game. Only the early contest hadn't gotten underway yet.
TOURNAMENT TIME turned into "Good-Bye Time" for Mike Shank, the conference's assistant public relations director. A Radford grad who worked for three years in the university's sports information office, Shank is leaving the Big South to work for a private public relations firm in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Meanwhile, it was a homecoming for many of the players. Twenty-one players from eight of the nine conference schools hail from the Old Dominion - the most of any state. Charleston Southern has the largest Virginia contingent with six players, half its roster.
And it was really a homecoming for Michelle Wyms. The Liberty University sophomore and former standout at Radford High scored 14 points and had four rebounds as the Flames fell to Towson State 77-69 in the first round.
MEN'S MARCH MADNESS didn't have the same impact at Radford as it fell in the semifinals for the sixth straight season.
RU last missed the semis in 1989. The only time it made it out of the semis was 1988.
Still, senior post player Antoine Dalton was named to the all-tournament team.
SPRING SPORTING EVENTS now take over almost all the schedule now that basketball is done.
The baseball team is at home against C.W. Post on Friday (2:30 p.m.), Saturday (doubleheader at noon) and Sunday (1 p.m.); against Richmond on Tuesday (3 p.m); against UNC Greensboro on March 25 (doubleheader at noon) and 26 (1 p.m.); and against James Madison March 29 (3 p.m.).
The softball team hosts the RU Invitational at the Moyer Complex in Salem beginning March 24. It is at home against Charleston Southern on March 22 (2 p.m.) and UNC Charlotte on March 28 (3 p.m.). The squad also is at the UNC Wimington tournament this weekend and the Sports Plus Tournament in Richmond beginning March 31.
The lacrosse team entertains Marist on Thursday (3:30 p.m.); Butler on Sunday (1 p.m.); and Ohio State in a night match March 23 (7 p.m.)
Both the men's and women's tennis teams are at home against Charleston Southern on Tuesday (3 p.m.) and UNC Greensboro on March 22 (2:30 p.m.). The women's team also hosts Towson State on March 25 (11 a.m.). The men's team hosts Appalachian State on March 25 (2:30 p.m.); Towson on March 26 (TBA); and Charleston, W.Va. on March 27 (3 p.m.).
The women's golf team is at the William and Mary Invitational beginning Saturday and the Eastern Kentucky Tournament starting March 31. The men's golf team is at the James Madison Tournament beginning March 31.
Finally, the gymnastics teams have the Virginia State meets coming up. The women's meet is Saturday. The men's meet is March 25.
by CNB