Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Indians earned a berth in the Group AA state tournament.
Blacksburg (11-12) will travel to Grundy on Saturday to play the Golden Wave in the Region IV finals.
"To tell you the truth, I never expected us to get this far,'' Blacksburg guard Natalie Mutispaugh said.
"This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for us, not a state tournament year. It just feels great.''
The Indians' comeback was led by senior guard April Rogers, the only remaining member of Blacksburg's 1993 state championship squad.
Rogers scored 12 of her game-high 21 points in the final period, including seven points in a 38-second span.
With Blacksburg trailing 56-52 and 2:52 remaining in the game, Rogers took over.
The Indian guard converted three free throws and two layups in the next 38 seconds to give Blacksburg a 59-58 lead. Richlands (19-5) answered with a pair of free throws by Kerri Bennett, but that would be all the offense the Blue Tornado would muster down the stretch.
Blacksburg's Kelly Geller made a 12-foot jumper in the paint to give her team the lead for good at 61-60.
Rogers tacked on three free throws in the closing moments to give the Indians the victory.
"April came out kind of slow to start with,'' Blacksburg coach Mickey McGuigan said. "But she's been in this situation before and she knew she had to turn it up.
"This was the best game we've played all year. I knew we were capable of playing like this and its good to see these girls get a chance to go to state.''
Rogers' 21 points and Andrea Feret's 16-point effort were enough to offset Richlands' 21-of-26 performance from the free-throw line.
"We got to the line a lot tonight but it just wasn't enough,'' Richlands coach Ruben Pritchard said. "We played two games on the road in three days and we didn't handle it well.''
The Indians used strong play from beyond the 3-point arc to keep the game close early. Mutispaugh, Bethany Johnston and Kelly Houghton each tossed in a pair of 3s.
"Our outside game really made the difference,'' McGuigan said. "We made some big threes that really kept us in the ballgame.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
by CNB