Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 24, 1993 TAG: 9303240018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: CHRIS STEUART
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE BEST, THE SCRAPPIEST WON TITLE: LADY HIGHLANDERS
Radford University's women's basketball program has the Energizer Bunny syndrome.They keep winning and winning and winning.
On Sunday, the Lady Highlanders outscrapped UNC Greensboro 62-57 to win the school's sixth Big South Conference Tournament championship in seven years.
For seniors Tammie Crown and LaSaundra Siddle, the title was their fourth straight.
And Radford coach Lubomyr Lichonczak has now guided the team to championships in each of his three years at the helm.
"And I haven't even scored a point yet," Lichonczak said.
"Now, I've cost us some at times. But I haven't scored any. The players have done it."
Both teams were a bit lethargic in the early going.
But a Lichonczak tirade before halftime spurred Radford.
With 1:56 left in the opening period, Crown was called for a blocking foul - her third and the 27th foul called in the first half.
Lichonczak threw his game notes high into the stands and was called for a technical foul.
"We take turns doing the scouting report. I did the report for this game. I've been fired up. I had been saving it up all week and I let it out today," Lichonczak said.
"I figured I didn't have any choice. I had to throw the notes away. We hadn't put anything in there about charges or blocks."
The Lady Highlanders trailed 34-28 at halftime, but followed their coach's lead at the start of the second half.
In the locker room, Lichonczak "just told us we had 20 minutes to play and if we wanted it to go out and get it," said Shannan Wilkey, who scored a game-high 21 points and was the tournament's most valuable player.
"We wanted it more than they did. We were the ones on the floor after the loose balls."
Siddle scored Radford's first four points and Wilkey scored on a stickback as Radford rallied for a 8-0 run to take a 36-34 lead three minutes into the second half.
Radford elevated the game to a frenetic pace by playing a scrappy pressure defense and scoring basket after basket in transition.
"The momentum was with us. Every time we hit a basket, it took something out of them," Siddle said.
"Defensively we had to battle, so we had to make it scrappy."
The Lady Highlanders got stepped-up efforts from key post players Samantha Gilbert and Sara Larsen, who combined for 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"We got a great effort from everybody," Lichonczak said.
"Especially from Siddle and Crown. Senior leadership is what wins you championships. They have done a great job all three years I've been here."
Radford was soundly beaten by the Spartans in the last game of the season. But back-to-back delays helped Radford regroup.
First there was a week after that last game.
Then the Blizzard of '93 brought the Dedmon Center roof down on on March 13, delaying the game another week.
"There's no question that the delays hurt us," said UNCG coach Lynn Agee.
"We didn't move our feet and our post players were glued to the floor. And Radford did everything they had to do to beat us."
The Highlander baseball team is a fair-weather club at 8-5.
Thing is, the team just can't play.
No, it's not that they aren't good. It's the weather.
Two major snowfalls and some rain have forced the team to miss 15 home games and one on the road - more than half of its scheduled games.
If all those home games hadn't been plowed, Radford probably would have quite a few more games in the win column and Duane Filchner might have countless RBI.
Radford is 7-1 in home games and Filchner has a team-leading 26 RBI.
\ UPCOMING EVENTS: March 24: Baseball - Radford vs. Howard, double header, 1 p.m. Women's and men's tennis - Radford vs. Towson State, 3 p.m. March 28: men's tennis vs. Appalachian State, 10 a.m. March 30: women's tennis vs. Marshall, 2:30 p.m. March 31: Lacrosse vs. Guilford, 3:30 p.m.
Chris Steuart covers sports for the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.