ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 7, 1997 TAG: 9702070060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
Add another big bruise to the hurtin' season of the Virginia Tech women's basketball team.
This time it was 10th-ranked Virginia throwing the hammer to the banged-up Hokies.
In a game that never was a game, the Cavaliers zipped to a 20-point lead in the first nine minutes and went on to bury the Hokies 90-41 on Thursday night at Cassell Coliseum.
This one was over before some of the season-high crowd of 2,011 ever found its seats. Virginia, taking advantage of one Tech mistake after another, scored 19 consecutive points to lead 23-3 after 8 minutes, 43 seconds.
UVa (17-4), which had 38 points before Tech could hit double figures on Renee Maitland's hoop with 5:21 left in the half, simply had too much of everything for the hurtin' Hokies.
It didn't help Tech that it handled the ball like a hand grenade for the first 13 minutes. At that point, the Hokies had 17 turnovers and trailed 38-8.
``I think we were shell-shocked the first five minutes,'' said Carol Alfano, Tech's coach.
``Take Sherry Banks. She's matched up against the best guard in the country maybe'' in UVa's Tora Suber, Alfano said. ``We got rattled early and it was a tough situation for us.''
As the two mismatched teams walked off the floor at halftime with UVa leading 52-19, Cavs coach Debbie Ryan looked at Tech athletic director Dave Braine, sitting on press row, and shrugged her shoulders.
Ryan said she had empathy for Alfano, whose club has suffered more than its share of adversity this season. Ryan tried not to run up the score, substituting liberally all night.
``I told [Alfano] before the game it's a very difficult position to be in because her best player [Michelle Hollister] leaves the week before practice starts and that's 19 points a game,'' Ryan said. ``You can't take that player out and then have all the injuries to the point guards and expect the team to run properly, especially with all the youth they have.
``I really feel for her and it's a tough position to be in. The injuries will kill you, and there's nothing a coach can do about it.''
DeMya Walker had 16 points to lead five UVa scorers in double figures. The 49-point differential matched UVa's 93-44 victory in 1990-91 for largest margin in the series. The Cavaliers lead 22-5.
``They're pretty good,'' Alfano said. ``They're the best team we've faced all year. They're quick, they rebound well. I think they'll do well in the NCAA'' Tournament.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM STAFF Virginia's DeMya Walker goes up for twoby CNBpoints during the first half in Blacksburg.