ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
STAR GUARD TORA SUBER takes over in the second half to help the Cavaliers win 62-43.
Now that it's over, Virginia women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan can admit she was a nervous wreck Sunday.
There was no way Ryan wanted to serve as hostess to the East Regionals next weekend and not be participating.
``It's a ton of bricks off my shoulders right now,'' said Ryan, whose third-seeded Cavaliers got 28 points from junior guard Tora Suber and defeated visiting George Washington 62-43.
``I don't know about the players, but there's been a heck of a lot of pressure to get here and finally be in the regional because it's our regional. Now, I feel I can relax a little bit and enjoy the ride.''
Virginia (25-6) advanced to the regional semifinal at 2 p.m. Saturday at University Hall, where it will meet the winner of tonight's game between second-seeded Old Dominion and 10th-seeded Toledo.
The Cavaliers never trailed against sixth-seeded George Washington, but the game was close until the final minutes. The Colonials (26-7) liked their position after cutting the deficit to 44-38 with 6:58 remaining.
That's when Suber took over. She hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, converted both ends of a one-and-one, then added two more free throws following a technical foul on GW coach Joe McKeown.
Jenny Boucek added a three-point play to complete a 10-0 Virginia run that made it 54-38 with 5:02 remaining. At the rate the Colonials were scoring, UVa had to know the game was over.
George Washington, which had won 20 of its previous 21 games, had its last field goal with 9:07 remaining. The Colonials, whose previous low output was in a 57-44 loss to Florida, shot 36.8 percent and committed 20 turnovers.
Virginia shot 32.8 percent, but outrebounded the Colonials 44-30. The Cavaliers had 20 offensive rebounds, including six off missed free throws. UVa senior Wendy Palmer, who scored 14 points, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
``I felt like Wendy had a great game today,'' Ryan said. ``She may not have shot well (6-for-14) from the free-throw line, but in a lot of ways she carried us. When we need a big rebound, she's always the one who gets it.''
Although she had an upset stomach that kept her from a postgame news conference, Palmer played 37 minutes. She had four steals and repeatedly got her hands on George Washington passes into the post.
Tajama Abraham had 17 points and seven rebounds. No other Colonials' player scored in double figures.
Abraham, from Newport News, fouled out under unusual circumstances after she was called for elbowing Boucek on a made free throw by the Cavaliers' Monick Foote with 1:49 remaining.
McKeown was on the officials for much of the game, although the fouls were even until the Colonials committed six personals in the last 1:49. UVa was 27-of-42 from the free-throw line for the game.
``Virginia had seven field goals in the second half and, when you hold a team to seven field goals in a half, there's not much more you can do,'' he said. ``I felt we could take them to the wire and have a chance to win at the end.''
It was UVa's eighth victory in as many meetings with the Colonials. The Cavaliers have made the regional semifinals every year since 1989.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. UVa's Tora Suber drives into George Washington'sby CNBMyriah Lonergan.