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Quarles leads Virginia to victory
Posted: Sunday March 19, 2000 11:01 PM
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Telisha Quarles admits that sometimes her point guard mentality prevents her from taking too much of Virginia's offensive load. But Quarles forgot all about that Sunday night, scored eight of her career-high 24 points during a 10-0 run and lifted No. 19 Virginia to a 74-70 victory against No. 17 Boston College in the second round of the women's NCAA tournament. "I was real relaxed today," Quarles said after making 8 of 17 overall, including 5 of 8 3-pointers. "I was real focused. I knew I had to show up today. Sweet 16, I've never been there before. I just wanted to do it for my team." The Cavaliers, seeded fourth in the Mideast Regional, reached the third round for the first time in three years and the 12th time in the last 14 seasons. "It's about time we got back there," said senior Renee Robinson, who scored 19 points. Robinson was part of the Cavaliers' 11th consecutive third round appearance as a freshman in 1997, but Virginia hasn't lasted that far since. "It means a lot. It's a special team this year," she said. "I said that in the beginning of the year, when people didn't think we would go this far. I think we've shocked a lot of people ... and I hope we continue to shock you all." Fifth-seeded Boston College (26-9) finished its second trip to the tournament the same way its first one ended. Last year, the Eagles lost to Tennessee in the second round, and this year, they came looking for more than just experience. "We were hardly just content to be here." said Becky Gottstein, who led the Eagles with 25 points, one shy of her career high. "We know how bad this feels and I think I speak for all the players when I say we don't want to feel it again." Virginia (25-8) won its 15th consecutive home game with solid defense against the Eagles' scoring leaders and the clutch outside shooting of Quarles, who made three 3-pointers in the game-changing 61/2-minute stretch of the second half. "My teammates and coaches, they tell me to shoot all the time, but I guess sometimes I do feel like I shoot too much," the sophomore said. "But they tell me I'm not, so I'm going to just keep shooting." The Eagles' top two scorers were held scoreless in the first half and managed just 14 points overall. Alissa Murphy, who had 26 in the first round, finished with three on 1-for-7 shooting, and Cal Bouchard was 4-for-11 for 11 points. "We hoped that Virginia would collapse on me so I could kick it out," said Eagles point guard Brianne Stepherson, who had 21 points. "But they stayed pretty much in the lanes and made it difficult to get the ball to our other players." Bouchard's first basket, a 3-pointer with 15:19 left, gave the Eagles a 40-36 lead, but with a crowd that included Buffalo Bills quarterback and Boston College alumnus Doug Flutie cheering every play, Quarles shot the Can front. Quarles hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 14:33 left, followed a steal and layup by Robinson with a 10-footer and then added another 3-pointer, this one from the left corner, to give Virginia a 46-40 lead with 9:53 to play. "Telisha was great tonight," Cavaliers coach Debbie Ryan said. "She just wants to win. She knew she had the hot hand and she stepped up big time." The Eagles closed to 48-45 with 8:22 left, but Quarles pulled up again in the left corner and knocked down another long-distance shot. The Eagles were never within three again until the final minute. With the score 73-70 and four second left, Quarles capped her
night with a free throw that put the game out of reach.
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