ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, March 2, 1996 TAG: 9603040094
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
Friday night's Atlantic 10 Conference tournament opening-round game between Virginia Tech and Fordham was not unlike the Energizer bunny.
It just kept going and going.
The Hokies, paced by a career-high 33 points from center Michelle Hollister, scored a 90-78 double-overtime victory against the Rams.
Hollister posted her 12th double-double of the season, collecting a team-high 10 rebounds. William Byrd High School alumnus Sherry Banks also performed the feat for Tech (11-16), scoring 15 points and adding 10 boards.
Rachelle Racht came off the bench to lead the Rams (9-17) with 20 points, and Alayna Jankunis added 16.
``When we have [Banks and Hollister] playing that well, we're a difficult team to beat,'' said Carol Alfano, the Hokies' coach. ``They feed off each other so much.''
Tech outscored Fordham 15-3 in the second overtime, holding the Rams to 0-of-7 shooting from the floor in the period.
``I don't know if our not hitting a field goal was a product of us being tired or not,'' said Kevin Morris, Fordham's coach. ``Our best player in terms of creating a shot, Alayna Jankunis, had fouled out. That was a big factor.''
The Hokies scored the first seven points of the second overtime to take an 82-75 lead with 2:14 to play.
Pulaski County graduate Terri Garland started the run by blocking a layup attempt by Fordham's Emeir Howard and going end-to-end for a layup of her own.
Hollister and reserve guard Renee Maitland scored Tech's final eight points to send the Hokies into today's quarterfinal round against UMass at 8:30 p.m.
``We couldn't have scripted this game any better for our players, except that it went to overtime,'' Alfano said. ``It's a good thing we have the late game so we can get a little rest.''
In other games:
St. Joseph's 84, Dayton 73: St.Joseph's (16-11) took the lead for good at 58-57 on two free throws by Amy Facer with 8:50 remaining and went on to beat the Flyers (9-18).
St.Joseph's faces La Salle in the quarterfinals today at 2:30 p.m.
Xavier 84 , St.Bonaventure 71: Amy Siefring scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out eight assists as the Musketeers (15-12) beat the Bonnies (12-15)
Shelia Flint hit for a career-high 18 points for Xavier, which will face West division champion George Washington today at noon.
Temple 64, Duquesne 59: Shememe Williams scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench to lead the Owls (7-20) over the Dukes (13-14). The Owls will play Rhode Island, the East's No.1 seed, today at 6 p.m.
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB