ROUNDUP : Reiss Sparks Virginia to a Decisive Victory

Tammi Reiss scored 22 points and No. 1 Virginia shot 58% from the field Sunday as the Cavaliers defeated No. 16 George Washington, 97-58, during the second round of the NCAA East Regional at Charlottesville, Va.

Virginia (30-1) put the game away in the first half, taking a 48-23 lead at halftime.

Virginia made 32 of 55 shots from the field and converted 31 of 39 free throws. The Cavaliers outrebounded George Washington, 42-23, and forced 27 turnovers.

Virginia spotted George Washington (25-7) a 5-2 lead and then went on a 22-2 run over a 5 1/2-minute span.

Reiss made a three-pointer with 18:43 to play in the first half to ignite the Cavaliers, and when Heidi Burge sank a short baseline jump shot at the 13:10 mark to cap the run, Virginia was ahead, 24-7.

The Cavaliers then scored 11 unanswered points in a 2 1/2-minute flurry with Dawn Staley’s three-point play extending the Virginia lead to 35-11 with 8:04 to play in the half.

“My biggest concern was how we would play after the 13-day layoff, but we practiced well all week,” Virginia Coach Debbie Ryan said. “I was glad to see us play so well defensively in the first half. Our defense fueled our offense.”

George Washington had been limiting its opposition to 57 points per game.

The Cavaliers got 20 points from Heidi Burge and 16 points each from Dena Evans and Heather Burge. Staley finished with eight points and nine assists.

George Washington was led by Mary Nordling with 13 points. Debbie Hemery and Darlene Saar added 11 points apiece for the Colonials.

Thursday, Cavaliers will meet No. 14 West Virginia. Vanderbilt (21-8), ranked No. 13, will play No. 6 Miami (30-1) in the other East Regional semifinal.

West Virginia 73, Clemson 72--Jodie Runner came off the bench to make a jump shot with 11 seconds remaining at Morgantown, W.Va., as the Mountaineers advanced to the East Regional semifinals.

A shot by Clemson’s Shanna Howard fell short as time expired.

Clemson opened a 30-12 lead with 8:55 to play in the first half. From that point, West Virginia went on a 20-9 run to cut Clemson’s lead to 39-32 at the half.

Rosemary Kosiorek led West Virginia (26-3) with 22 points. Donna Abbott added 14 points and Runner, who averages three points, scored a season-high 12.

Clemson (21-10) was led by Cheron Wells with 23 points.

Purdue 98, Northern Illinois 62--MaChelle Joseph scored 24 points and had 16 assists for the Boilermakers during a Midwest Regional game at West Lafayette, Ind.

Purdue (23-6) will play Maryland (24-5) Thursday in a regional semifinal. Tennessee (28-2) will play Western Kentucky (24-7) in the other semifinal.

Joseph capped a decisive 10-point streak that gave the Boilermakers a 38-29 lead during the first half.

The spurt began with a basket by Donna Gill with 3:09 left in the period. Cindy Lamping made two layins during the streak, which ended with Joseph’s 12-foot jumper with 1:04 to play.

Northern Illinois came within five points during the second half, but Purdue pulled away.

Tina Eddie, who scored 18 points, responded with eight consecutive points and the Boilermakers were never threatened again.

Cindy Conner led Northern Illinois (18-14) with 18 points.