THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 10, 1995 TAG: 9503100473
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
With 2.6 seconds remaining, East Carolina had top-seeded James Madison facing elimination in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
Two free throws had allowed the Lady Pirates to tie the game, 55-55, with less than a minute left to play, and now Danielle Charlesworth stood at the foul line with the opportunity to give ECU one of the most unlikely of upsets.
Charlesworth, an 80 percent free-throw shooter, missed both, banging the ball off the back of the rim.
The Dukes made no mistakes in overtime. JMU breezed through the extra period, outscoring the Lady Pirates, 10-2, in the opening minutes en route to a 72-64 victory Thursday at the Old Dominion field house.
The Dukes (21-6, 14-1) were without the services of All-CAA forward Sarah Schreib, who broke her right hand during practice Monday. She did not dress against ECU (7-20, 3-12) although her status is listed as day-to-day.
The Dukes will meet fifth-seeded Richmond in the semifinals today at 5:30 p.m.
William and Mary 62 George Mason 56
After a turnover by George Mason's Keri Chaconas, Yolanda Settles scooped up the ball and drove the length of the court for the go-ahead layup as sixth-seeded William and Mary upset the third-seeded Patriots.
The Tribe will face second-seeded Old Dominion tonight at 7:30 in the semifinals.
W&M's Nina McIntyre tied the score, 56-56, with less than two minutes left to play by hitting the second of two free throws.
Chaconas took the inbounds pass for Mason (9-18, 7-8) and got the ball to midcourt, setting up the offense on the left side. She attempted to get the ball inside with a bounce pass, but it bounced off Settles' feet.
Settles' sprinted ahead of the defense and rolled in a layup with 1:35 left.
Aquendine Khasidis finished with 20 points for the Tribe (8-20, 4-11), while McIntyre added nine points and 13 rebounds.
Chaconas led Mason with 20 points on 7 for 25 shooting.
Richmond 54 American 53
Patience Jones hit a layup with 17 seconds remaining to boost the fifth-seeded Spiders (12-15, 8-7).
Richmond blew a 15-point first-half lead and trailed, 53-50, with less than 90 seconds remaining. But a jumper by Ina Nicosia - who had a team-high 20 points - at the 1:11 mark pulled the Spiders to within one. Jones (10 points) then flipped in the game-winner after a missed Nicosia free throw.
The fourth-seeded Eagles (13-14, 7-8) fell despite a game-high 20 points from forward Ally Baker. Stacy Meeker chipped in 12 points. MEMO: Staff writer Paul White contributed to this report.
by CNB