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CAC WOMENUMW 79, SALISBURY 58
CAC semifinals: UMW vs Salisbury
Date published: 2/23/2007 By KURT NICOLL BY KURT NICOLL Games can turn dramatically with a 3-pointer in a critical situation. Likewise, dominating the defensive boards and possessing a dominant shot blocker can wear an opponent down just as quickly. Hard-pressed by visiting Salisbury University through the first half last night, the Mary Washington women's basketball team relied on its defensive prowess to turn up the pressure in a 79-58 victory in the semifinal round of the Capital Athletic Conference tournament. The Eagles (25-2) will host Marymount tomorrow in the CAC final at a time to be announced. "In the second half we focused on defense and went from there," junior center Liz Hickey said. "Coming in, we were No. 1 in the country for defensive field goal percentage. We needed to focus on that because that's what makes us win games. That's how we get our offense going is focusing on defense--making sure we had our help rotations down and limiting the easy shot opportunities." After registering no blocked shots in a first-round victory over Gallaudet University, the 6-foot-3 center from Virginia Beach had eight against the Sea Gulls to go along with 16 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. With less than six minutes remaining, Salisbury lost its top inside player when Meghan Klug crashed into Hickey on a drive to the basket, picking up her fifth foul. "I'm average at taking charges. But I knew we had to play physical and play smart and not pick up my fourth foul," Hickey said. "But I just couldn't let her have an open lane to the basket: just slide your feet and get the position." Trailing by 12 points with 9:48 left in the first half, Salisbury closed to within 42-40, then had its momentum halted when Amanda Bates drilled a 3-pointer from 20 feet as time expired. "I was trying to set the screen for Kaitie [Clarkin] so she could get the open 3," Bates said of her clutch basket. "I heard somebody yell 'Shoot it' and the ball happened to be in my hands and saw there were two seconds left and I let it go." Klug's 3-pointer at the 17:49 cut the Eagles' lead to one point, but the ninth-ranked team in the country responded with a 15-1 run over the next 4 minutes to take control of the game.
Date published: 2/23/2007
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