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Feb. 13, 2000
BY HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Renee Robinson didn’t even give Debbie Ryan achance to say no with the game deadlocked at 55 and 7.7 seconds on the clock.
“She really wanted the last shot and I wasn’t going to deny somebody thatwas in my face before the timeout was even started,” Ryan said afterRobinson’s two free throws with fourth-tenths of a second left gave No. 22Virginia a 57-55 victory against Arkansas State.
“I felt like that’s what she wants, I’ll give her the ball,” Ryan said.
Robinson took the inbound pass, dribbled up the right side and penetratedalong the baseline. Her shot wasn’t close and it appeared the game would go toovertime, but the officials called a foul on Natalie Goodall and Robinson wonthe game.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever done that,” the senior guard said ofasking for the ball. “But I just felt that I wanted the ball. I just wantedit.”
Robinson had earned the chance to win it in regulation with two huge basketsin the final 69 seconds, each giving the Cavaliers a two-point lead.
Lady Indians coach Brian Boyer had nothing to say to his team after thegame.
“There’s nothing you can say,” he said. “Every fan of athletics shouldhave had to walk through that locker room and see that place. That’s why weplay this sport. That’s why we play athletics. … But there’s nothing you cansay.”
Virginia (19-6), which lost as the No. 8 team on the Lady Indians home floorlast season, almost took another hard fall until Robinson came to the rescue.
She had only one field goal when she drove and banked in a 8-footer with1:09 to play to give Virginia a 53-51 lead. But the Lady Indians answered onTanisha Johnson’s basket with 46.8 seconds to play.
Robinson then drove into the middle of the Lady Indians’ defense as the shotclock wound down, finally rolling a scoop off the glass and in with 19.7seconds to play. This time, Jolie McKeirnan’s putback of Johnson’s miss tied itagain.
Then it was up to Robinson to demand the ball and do something with it.
“She was like, `Just give me the ball. The worst thing I can do is miss andwe go to overtime,”‘ teammate Dean’na Mitchelson said. “She was reallyconfident.”
Boyer and his assistants objected vehemently to the whistle, which Ryan saidcame before the final horn but was lost in the end-game confusion andexcitement.
The officials eventually put time back on the clock, and Robinson swishedboth shots through to give the Cavaliers their 15th victory in the last 17games.
Arkansas State (14-6), which didn’t get to the arena until an hour beforetipoff after getting lost on the 2-mile trip from its hotel, lost in a weekwhen it also will have to play Louisiana Tech, No. 4 nationally, twice.
Virginia played the first half without scoring and rebounding leader SchuyeLaRue, benched for an unspecified violation of team rules, and trailed 30-28despite a career-high 12 points by Mitchelson, LaRue’s replacement.
Mitchelson finished with 12 to lead Virginia and Telisha Quarles had 11.
Julie Hagood led Arkansas State with 15 points and Johnson and Keeshia Evansadded 10 each. Johnson also had five assists and four rebounds.