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LOWES GIRLS WINS REGION – 1977 NO. 1

Lady Blue Devils prove No. 1 ranking Lowes girls win region crown By PAT MOYNAHAN Sun-Democrat Sports Editor MAYFIELD, Ky. Coach Jim Long of Lowes thought the final 5 minutes, 45 seconds on the clock in the Mayfield High School gymnasium would never tick off. Lowes' Lady Blue Devils, topranked all season, were that close to wrapping up the First Region championship they thought they could win from the opening tip of the season the first weekend in November. A throng of Lowes' fans were already beginning to celebrate when Long called time after Susan Geveden fouled out at the 5:45 mark. The Blue Devils, 'Screamin' Demons' to the towel-wavers in the stands, led by 20 points and Long and Carlisle County's Lady Comets may have been the only people here left who didn't think it was over. "We had Susan out and three people on the floor with three fouls," Long noted. "I've been in games before when I had a 20-point lead with five minutes to go and lost. "That's the longest 5 minutes and 45 seconds I've ever been in. I didn't think the last quarter would get over." Long need not have worried. Oblivious to the pressure as they seemed to be all through the tournament, the Lady Blue Devils went on to blast eighthranked Carlisle County 82-51 and ran off with Lowes' first First Region title in any sport since sometime in the 1920s or 1930s. "It was so long ago, nobody knows just when it was," Long chuckled. "I knew we had a shot at it all season but I never, put any pressure on myself. try to do other things and not worry about it. The past two tournaments, I put a lot of pressure on myself but I tried not to show Marquette falters; Spartans breeze By STEVE HERMAN AP Sports Writer INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A three- point play by Archie Aldridge and two free throws by Rich Babcock with 14 seconds left in overtime capped a Miami comeback that hurtled the Redskins past defending NCAA champion Marquette 84-81 Saturday in the NCAA Mideast Regional basketball tournament. In the other Mideast Regional contest, sixth-ranked Michigan State hit its first eight shots, roared to a 24-point lead and Today on TV All times CST 11:30 a.m. (5) - TCU Basketball. 12 noon (12) - Challenge of the Sexes. 12 noon (6) (4) - Sports World. 12:30 p.m. (2) - Bill Dance Outdoors. 12:45 p.m. (12) (5) - NBA Basketball. Chicago at Denver. 1 p.m. (6) (4) - College Basketball. Louisville vs. St. John. 1 p.m. (3) (2) - The Superstars. 2:30 p.m. (3) - John Denver Celebrity Pro-Am Skiing. 3 p.m. (6) (4) - College Basketball. Houston vs. Notre Dame. 3p.m. (12) (5) - Doral Open. 3:30 p.m. (3) Wide World of Sports. 5 p.m. (3) - Bill Dance Outdoors. 11 p.m. (2) - Championship Wrestling. it to the girls and their parents so it wouldn't affect the team. "The girls listened to what I had to say about rest, got mentally ready each time and played them one at a time. This was our best all-around game of the tournament again it was a six-man effort. "It feels like we've got new life," he added. "It feels like we've got another chance. I feel like George Allen. We're not dead yet. I've got a chance to coach another game and the girls, have a chance to play another game." That game will come in the first round of the Kentucky State Girls High School Tournament at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond next week. Lowes, 25-2, will meet Barren County in the tournament opener at noon, Wednesday. In six district and regional games, no one in the First Region was able to stay closer than 16 points to the Lady Blue Devils. But Lowes saved its best effort for the clincher in the championship game. The Lady Blue Devils hit 9 of 11 shots from the field over the last five minutes of the first quarter to mount a 22-14 advantage and never looked back. Lowes limited Carlisle County to 14 points over the next 15 minutes and swelled the margin to an insurmountable 31 points before the third quarter ended. Tammy Simmons paced the Blue Devils with 21 points. Cin- See SIMMONS, Page 5D Carlisle County .22 14 22 32 59 51 Lowes 40 82 CARLISLE CO. (51) Rambo Hoskins 14, Burton 5, Bean 19, Hogancamp 4, Forgey, Homer, Petrie, Akers, Davis, Tankersley. Simmons LOWES 21, (82) C. - J. Smith Hart 20, 12, D. Hart Wilson 2, 16, Gourley 5, Geveden 6, Sullivan, Rives, Lisa Dupree, T. Smith, S. Smith. rode Greg Kelser's 23 points to a 77-63 victory over unranked Providence. Miami, which trailed by as many as 13 points early in the second half, began to rally after Jerome Whitehead was thrown out of the game for decking Miami's John Shoemaker with his elbow with 3:38 left in regulation. He was charged with a personal foul, and Marquette Coach Hank Raymonds picked up a technical. Babcock hit one free throw, Aldridge hit both technicals and Rick Goins followed with a basket to cut Marquette's 10- point lead in half, 68-63. "They just got the momentum after the technical foul," said Raymonds, who took over from Al McGuire as Marquette's coach this season. "They hit some shots and that turned it around. It was my first technical all year.' Marquette got the lead back to eight points, but baskets by Shoemaker and Aldridge closed the gap to two and a pair of free throws by Randy Ayers tied the game at 73-73 with 52 seconds left. All-American Butch Lee, who led all scorers with 27 points, hit one of two free throws with 28 seconds to go. Then a basket by Shoemaker put Miami on top by one before a free throw by Jim -Boylan sent the game into overtime at 75-75. See SPARTANS, Page 3D Miami 84 Marquette 81 MARQUETTE (81) Payne 5 1-2 11, Toone 6 0-1 12, Whitehead 5 0-0 10, B. Lee 10 7-10 27, Boylan 5 5-7 15, 0. Lee 1 0-0 2, Rosenberger 2 0-0 4. Totals 34 13-20 81. MIAMI (84) Ayers 7 6-7 20, Aldridge 7 5-6 19, Lake 02- 2 2, Goins 9 0-0 18, Shoemaker 10 0-0 20, Babcock 0 3-4 3, Jones 0 0-0 0, Dunn 1 0-0 2. Totals 34 16-19 84. Halftime- -Marquette 38, Miami 33. Regulation -Marquette 75, Miami 75. Fouled out-Toone, Dunn. Total fouls- 16, Miami 16. Technical -Marquette Coach Raymonds. A -16,519. Michigan State 77 Providence 63 MICHIGAN STATE (77). Kelser 9 5-7 23, Johnson 5 4-6 14, Vincent 2 2-3 6, Donnelly 6 0-0 12, Chapman 7 0-0 14, Brkovich 0 0-0 0, Charles 3 0-2 6, Flowers 0 0-0 0, Phillips 0 0-0 0, Longaker 0 0-0 0, L. Williams 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-00, Riewald 0 0- 00, Kaye 00-00, Feldreich 1 0-0 2. Totals 33 11-18-77. PROVIDENCE (63) Eason 3 0-2 6, Campbell 9 66 24, Misevicius 6 1-1 13, D. Williams 1. 24 4, Oristaglio 0 0-0 0, Scott 2 0-1 4, Frye 0 2-2 2, Nolan 0 2-2 2, Delgatto 00 0-00, R. Williams 2 2-46, Hunger 02-22. Totals 23 17-24 63. Halftime- Michigan State 38, Providence 26. Fouled out--D. Williams. Total fouls -Providence 20, Michigan State 17. A -16,519.

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