ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 1, 1997 TAG: 9703030111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
To all those who say playing sports is so much more mental than physical, the Roanoke College women's basketball team says, ``Phooey."
The top-seeded Maroons stopped using their heads Friday afternoon with about four minutes left in their Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament semifinal against No.5 seed Emory & Henry. Just then, they started a comeback that ended with a 56-50 victory.
The win preserved Roanoke's No.1 ranking in the NCAA South Region and propelled them into today's championship game against Guilford at the Salem Civic Center. The victory came when the Maroons (24-2) stopped thinking and started playing, which hadn't happened much lately.
Every Roanoke player had a test or paper due on Thursday or Friday, so their brains were exhausted even if their bodies were not. Freshman Sarah Dingledine had it the worst: four tests the past two days. Hopefully she passed as well as teammate Carrie McConnell did late in Friday's game.
With the Maroons down 48-45 with 2:33 left, McConnell took charge of Roanoke's offense, which had been disjointed while trailing for the previous eight minutes. Seeing an opening, the Pulaski County High School graduate dribbled into the middle of the foul lane. As the Wasps defense closed on her, she bounced a pass to center Amy Athey, who banked the ball in and brought Roanoke within one, 48-47.
``That was Carrie," said Athey, the ODAC player of the year. ``I stepped in where there was a hole and she made an awesome pass."
After two Maroons misses, Emory & Henry senior Sallie Lefler again put her team up three with a driving layup. Seven seconds later, however, Roanoke tied it at 50 with a 3-pointer from Blacksburg High graduate Suzanne Moore, who was isolated near the sideline. The senior guard was 0-for-4 from 3-point range before that, but she took the shot anyway.
``I didn't think about it," she said. ``If I think about it, I don't make 'em."
Roanoke broke the tie with 50 seconds left on another McConnell-to-Athey bouncer-to-banker. Athey put the Maroons ahead 52-50, their first lead since the 10:22 mark of the second half.
``McConnell and Athey made the difference down the stretch," said Wasps coach Joy Scruggs.
Moore made two free throws and freshman forward Cheryl Rhodes made a steal and layup with one second left to finish the scoring.
Rhodes, from Cave Spring High School, had 10 points, including six in the final six minutes. Athey, also from Cave Spring, led the Maroons with 16 points.
``In practice we ran drills, situations, where we were down three with two minutes to go," Athey said. ``We knew we could do it."
The Maroons also knew, however, it wouldn't come easy. Ten days ago Roanoke beat Emory & Henry 82-45 by shooting 92 percent from 3-point range and 54 percent overall. Not only were the Wasps trying to erase memories of that defeat, but they were doing it in the tournament, an event they have peaked in in the past. ``Tournament time is Emory's time,'' said Maroons coach Susan Dunagan.
In the first half Friday, Emory & Henry (15-11) fought back to within two points, 28-26, by halftime, and dominated most of the second half. The Wasps' shooting, however, prevented them from pulling away.
Although Roanoke made just 31.9 percent of its field goals, Emory & Henry made just 28.6 percent. The Wasps' top three scorers, Angie Simpkins, Lefler and Trayce Steele were a combined 9-for-32 from the field, although Lefler tore through the otherwise forbidding Roanoke defense for 17 points.
The victory was the Maroons' seventh straight over Emory & Henry and landed them in the tournament title game for the 14th time in the 15 years it's been played.
Guilford 77, Bridgewater 71: The third-seeded Quakers earned their first championship berth in six years of ODAC membership after repelling three furious Eagles rallies in Friday's other semifinal.
Guilford, however, rode the hot 3-point shooting of Marija Preimats (3-for-7) and Molly Hughes (4-for-5) to stay ahead of Bridgewater (21-5). Preimats scored a game-high 21 points, Hughes added 16, and all-ODAC center Laura Haynes had 20 points and 15 rebounds.
``We had those two spurts where we really filled it up,'' said Quakers coach Barb Bausch.
By beating second-seeded Bridgewater, Guilford (18-8) this season has at least one victory over every ODAC team except Roanoke. ``We've beaten everybody else,'' Bausch said. ``It would be a great time to do it.'' NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
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