Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 16, 1995 TAG: 9503160036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``Last year, I can remember some of the players going around with cameras taking pictures of the 5,000 or 6,000 people that were there at Purdue to see [the Boilermakers] play us that night,'' Radford coach Lubomyr Lichonczak said. ``The players had never played in front of that many people before.This year, we've played at University Hall. We've played in front of a lot of people. I think we're going to be able to focus on what it takes to win the basketball game.''
That would certainly be a good idea as the No. 11 seeded Highlanders play eighth-seeded Florida in the first game of a East Region opening round doubleheader at 6 p.m. The second game features the host Cavaliers (24-4) against Ivy League champion Dartmouth (16-10)
The winners meet in the second round 7:30 p.m. Saturday at University Hall.
Radford's game will be televised in the Radford area on American Cable Entertainment channel 9.
Of the four teams, the Cavaliers are by far the most accustomed to partying in the postseason. Virginia is in the tournament for the 12th consecutive year, the ninth time as a recipient of an at-large bid. The Cavaliers have been to the round of 16 eight straight years and the Final Four twice. Florida is making its third consecutive tournament appearance. Radford and Dartmouth have been here once previously, but Dartmouth not since 1984. Radford was hammered by Purdue in the opening round last year.
Virginia had a 12-game winning streak snapped with an overtime loss to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals. On the way from vaulting from the third seed to its sixth straight Big South Conference title, Radford (15-14) has won its past four games and seven of its last 10. Dartmouth won 11 of its last 12.
For the Highlanders, late surges are nothing new. Eight conference tournament championships in nine attempts is proof of that. This year, Radford got off to a 2-9 start - its worst ever - and closed by winning 13 of its last 18.
``We don't get too consumed by success or failure along the way,'' Lichonczak said. ``The key is to get better.
Lichonczak has tinkered incessantly, using 14 different lineups. All 11 players have at least one start. Guard Jenny Goode leads the team with 27 starts after beginning the season as a former walk-on with a 2.0 point per game average. Her credentials now include a team-leading 12.3 points per game.
Others who have helped propel Radford to this stage include 6-foot-2 Dede Logemann (7.2 rpg., 9.1 ppg.) and forwards Nicole Gardiner and Rebecca McNeil. Gardiner, the team's defensive ace, came to the Highlanders all the way from New Zealand; McNeil, a 6-foot freshman, came only as far as Christiansburg but since has progressed to a spot on the Big South All Rookie team.
``We know that if Radford beats us, we go home,'' said Florida coach Carol Ross. ``That in itself earns our respect for Radford. We're a team, too, that has proven all year that if we don't show up and play ready, Radford and a lot of other people can turn our little plane around and send us home in a hurry.''
The Gators, who finished the season ranked 17th in the nation, have four players who average double-figure scoring led by 5-11 guard-forward Merlakia Jones (18.9 ppg.), whom Lichonczak calls a ``legitimate Kodak All-America candidate.''
Virginia must contend with the Big Green and its 6-4 center Ilsa Webeck, the team's most effective player in the second half of the season. Webeck has averaged 15.5 points and eight rebounds to go with 41 blocked shots in the last 11 games. She has a school record 73 erasures this year.
As for Virginia, the Cavaliers are strong as ammonia at University Hall, having won 53 straight there. Central to the extension of that string this year has been an inside game led by ACC player of the year Wendy Palmer (17.7 ppg., 9.9 rpg.) at forward and 6-6 Jeffra Gausepohl (12.3 ppg., 5.7 rpg.) at center.
by CNB