THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 7, 1995 TAG: 9501070372
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Though its last field goal came with more than three minutes to go in the fourth quarter, seventh-ranked Booker T. Washington (3-3, 1-0) held on for a 41-37 victory over Maury (2-7, 0-1) Friday night in an Eastern District opener for both teams.
Up by two with 10 seconds to go, Alicia Fields sank both ends of a one-and-one to seal the win.
``I think we showed a lot of heart,'' Maury coach Bobby Howlett said. ``We had the ball four times when they had a two-point lead but we made a few mistakes.''
Booker T. opened the fourth quarter with a 35-25 lead, but the Commodores' two-guard-front press forced four straight turnovers. Within the first three minutes of the final period, Maury managed to trim the Bookers' lead to three, leaving coach Cal Davidson no choice but to call a time out to regroup his team.
``We kind of let up a little bit when we got a big lead,'' said Cheria Askew, who led the Bookers with 14 points. ``We had to pick up our defense and get back in it.''
But Booker T. couldn't truly get back in it until 27 seconds were left on the clock when Maury guard Shwante Snead picked up her fifth foul going for a loose ball.
Snead sparked the Commodores' 14-6 fourth quarter run, scoring nine of her game-high 23 points before leaving the game.
``I picked up a couple of silly fouls because I was so hyped for the game,'' Snead said. ``It was my fault. We had a whole lot of chances at the end and we just didn't capitalize on them.
``I noticed that time was running out and we had to do something. You could have called it either way, but I don't think in close game like this that a call like that should have been made.''
Booker T. went on a sizeable roll only once before Snead fouled out, but those few minutes were all the Bookers needed to blow open the game before halftime.
Snead came out late in the second quarter when she was called for her third foul. The Bookers took advantage of her two-minute absence with a 8-0 run that put them up, 21-10.
The Bookers' third quarter defense set the Commodores' offensive threat back even further when they came out with a box-and-one on Snead with both Fields and Leslie Evidente taking turns on the guard. Fields and Evidente allowed her just four points in a 14-8 Booker T. run.
Fields chipped in 11 points for Booker T. by CNB