THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512310317
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JODY DEMLING, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LOUISVILLE, KY. LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Happy birthday, Mery Andrade.
The ODU sophomore from Portugal will bring two spiffy presents back to Norfolk from the Seelbach Cardinal Classic: most valuable player honors for her and a tournament championship for her team.
Andrade scored 30 points as the 19th-ranked Lady Monarchs defeated No. 10 Colorado 77-65 Saturday in the tournament final.
Rebounding told much of the story as the Lady Monarchs (7-1) outrebounded the Lady Buffs 47-32. Colorado coach Ceal Barry said the battle of the boards was the difference in the game.
``Their rebounding really hurt us tonight, they were just so tough, so physical,'' Barry said. ``We just didn't have an answer for the big people they were putting on the boards.''
The Lady Buffs trailed 31-29 at halftime and never pulled closer than a 41-41 tie with 11:44 remaining in the second half. Back-to-back Lady Buffs' turnovers led to an eight-point lead for the Lady Monarchs at 52-44.
Shelley Garcia, who had a career-high 12 points for Colorado (12-3), nailed a 3-point shot at the 9:31 mark of the second half to pull the Lady Buffs within three points at 53-50.
``I just didn't think we were ever in sync in the game, never was quite comfortable with the way we were playing,'' Barry said.
The story, however, was Andrade and her 30-point outburst. She said it was a thrill to win the MVP award against a top-10 team.
``This is nice because it is the first trophy I have won since coming to the United States,'' Andrade said. ``I know Colorado is a very good team, but we have some pretty good players as well. I'm just glad we got the win.''
The Lady Monarchs also got 12 points from Shonda DeBerry and 11 points and nine rebounds from Clarisse Machanguana.
Barry was looking forward to the homecoming at Louisville, where she was raised. She said the loss was tough with so many family and friends on hand.
``We just have to become a better basketball team than we are right now,'' Barry said. by CNB