UMass Defeats Virginia Tech In Atlantic 10 Quarterfinal, 58-54

March 4, 2000

PHILADELPHIA - Senior Alison MacFarland (Brick, N.J.) scored a season-high 19 points including hitting two free throws with 4 seconds remaining to give the Minutewomen the lead for good, to lead UMass to a 58-54 win over Virginia Tech in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Quarterfinals, Saturday afternoon. MacFarland, who scored 15 of her 19 points in the second half, went 5-for-9 from the field, including going 3-for-4 in the second stanza. MacFarland went 8-for-8 from the free throw line to key the victory for UMass. Sophomore Nekole Smith (Ann Arbor, Mich.) added 14 points (7-for-12) including 12 in the second half, and six rebounds, while junior Kathy Coyner (Belpre, Ohio) had 10 points and nine assists. Freshman Jennifer Butler (Brooklyn, N.Y.) pulled down 10 rebounds, while adding five points. Nicole Jones and Amy Wetzel both had 15 points to lead the Hokies. UMass will take on George Washington in the first semifinal tomorrow evening at 6:00 p.m. UMass improves to 14-14 in the season, while Virginia Tech falls to 19-10.

UMass started the game with a 6-0 run, including two quick baskets from freshman Jennifer Butler and a basket from freshman Amber Sneed (Cincinnati, Ohio). UMass increased the lead to 8-1 at 15:27 with a bucket from MacFarland. The Minutewomen held the Hokies without a field goal until Sarah Hicks hit a jumper at 14:52. UMass took a 14-8 advantage on a bucket from Smith at 9:32, but the Virginia Tech reeled off an 11-0 run to take a 19-14 lead, the biggest lead of the half. Wetzel had seven points in the run for Virginia Tech. Senior Tonia Thomas (Seguin,TX) hit a three pointer at 4:06 to stop the run and cut the lead to 19-17. Thomas hit another three at 27 seconds remaining to tie the game at 24-24. Molly Owens hit the front end of a one-and-one to take the 25-24 lead into the intermission. UMass shot 29 percent, while the Hokies shot 42.1 percent in the half. UMass forced Virginia Tech into 11 first-half turnovers.

The teams traded buckets to start the second half. The first seven minutes featured eight lead changes and two ties, until UMass went on a 6-0 run including buckets from MacFarland and two from Smith to take a 41-37 lead at 11:27. Virginia Tech tied up the game on a jumper by Wetzel at 10:07. UMass built the lead back to four points (45-41) on a bucket from Smith and a pair of free throws from Coyner at the 9:26 mark. Virginia Tech answered with a jumper from Jones and two free throws from Wetzel at 7:41. Butler hit the front end of two free throws to give UMass a 46-45 lead at 7:19. The lead changed five more times in the next six minutes. MacFarland converted on a two shot foul opportunity at 4.0 seconds to give UMass a 56-54 lead. Coyner sealed the game with two from the charity stripe with 1.8 seconds remaining in the game.

"It was a war out there and both teams played extremely hard," said UMass Head Coach Joanie O'Brien. "We kept our composure in the game, even when they made runs at us. It was a physical game, and we really had some kids step up and play today, and we made free throws down the stretch."

UMass defeated then No. 25 George Washington in their only meeting of the year, earning a 67-54 victory at the William D. Mullins Center on February 17th.

                1     2     OT   F
UMASS           24    34    -    58
VIRGINIA TECH   25    29    -    54

Scoreboard