Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 21, 1993 TAG: 9303210013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND MUST WAIT FOR VIRGINIA WOMEN
People are taking something for granted when they talk of the advantages Virginia's basketball team will have from the NCAA Women's Tournament East Regional being played in Richmond.The Cavaliers must get there first.
"I think what concerns me most is that we not be overconfident," said coach Debbie Ryan, whose team is host to Florida in a second-round game today at 3 p.m. at University Hall. "I have to keep reminding the players to take one step at a time and not look ahead. It's one and done now."
That's a standard coaching cliche at this time of year, but the Cavaliers (24-5) have won 10 games in a row and have not lost at home in more than a year.
"I know a lot of coaches are concerned about getting their teams to peak at the right time," Ryan said, "but I don't think you can worry about how your team is playing. You just accept what's there and away you go.
"I didn't think we played all that well in the ACC Tournament. I still think we've got one last gasp in getting to peak performance level."
Virginia was fortunate to get to overtime in a 79-71 victory over Clemson in the ACC semifinals. In the championship game, UVa needed late shots from Dena Evans in regulation and the first overtime before beating Maryland 106-103 in three overtimes.
It was a foregone conclusion that UVa would remain in the East to help attendance, but the Cavaliers were ranked 10th before the ACC Tournament, so they needed a strong finish to get a second seeding.
"When I saw the first seed come up on the board, it put a smile on my face," Ryan said. "That's about all I'm going to say."
For weeks there had been speculation that Tennessee would be sent to the Richmond Coliseum. The Volunteers stopped UVa's best chance at a national championship when they beat the Cavaliers in the 1991 title game.
"I was really expecting them to put either Tennessee or Vanderbilt in the East," Ryan said. "I thought they could have brought in Tennessee and Ohio State, put us third and maybe Penn State fourth."
One of the big surprises in the draw was the presence of three Southeastern Conference teams - Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia - in the same half of the Mideast bracket.
"The Southeastern Conference teams don't play each other home and home," Ryan said. "I think the committee was sending out the message, `Show us a strength of schedule and we'll move you out of the region.'
"I know there are people griping and moaning and groaning [about the ACC], but our sixth-place team was beating people in February. Don't tell me the ACC didn't deserve five teams."
If the committee had concerns about scheduling, they weren't reflected in the awarding of bids to six SEC teams. Unranked Florida (19-9) pulled a surprise Wednesday with a 69-67 victory over No. 20 Bowling Green on the road.
At a news conference this week, Ryan said she was unfamiliar with Bowling Green, "but Florida was in our tournament last year," she added. "Plus, a lot of their games have been on [cable] TV."
Virginia is coming off a 13-day layoff, but it has been a welcome break, particularly for third-leading scorer Wendy Palmer, hobbled for the past month by a stress fracture in one of her ankles.
"Wendy's a lot better," said Ryan, whose team had a first-round bye. "I sent 'em all home, and I hope the break has helped to relieve some of the `freshman-itis' Wendy has experienced."
Two other freshmen, guard Jenny Boucek and 6-foot-6 Jeffra Gausepohl, played big roles in the ACC championship, but it is a veteran team with two starters - Evans and Heather Burge - bidding for a fourth Final Four appearance.
"I don't feel there was anybody who was in our locker room [after a semifinal loss] last year who wasn't indelibly imprinted by how it felt," Ryan said. "I can still picture exactly where everybody was sitting in the locker room, not that we're down about it.
"We're just saying, `Hey, this is another chance to do something significant.' "