Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 27

1 SECTION INSIDE' fir LTU Golf, C4 Major-league baseball, C5 NBA, C7 Monday, April 5, 1993 Austin American-Statesman l-r in i rm Contrasts are clear in title game Michigan (31-4) vs. North Carolina (33-4) When: 8:22 p.m. (tipoff) Flashy Fab 5, cool Carolina collide Two to watch: Inside duel between UNO's Eric Montross and Michigan's Chris Webber Leading scorers: Eric Montross (UNC), 15.8; Chris Webber (Mich), 19.1 Injury: Point guard Derrick Phelps (UNC), bruised left hip, will play hurt Previous meeting: Michigan beat North Carolina 79-78 in Rainbow Classic in December Where: Superdome, New Orleans Crowd: 64,100 (sellout) Television: KTBC (Channel 7 Cable 2), 8p.m. pregame Radio: KLBJ-AM (590), WOAI-AM (1200), 7:45 p.m. pregame The key: If both muscular teams nullify each other inside, who's going to hit from outside? upperclassman's bags on road trips, helping the He drinks water last, deferring to the older players.

Freshmen wait their turn, hoping to start as a sophomore. Carolina is certainly not for everyone. Big-time recruit Clifford Rozier left after one season, transferring to Louisville so he could occupy a larger portion of the spotlight. Carolina is where Jordan averaged only 17 points a game. On Sunday, Smith was required to bring his five starters to a See NCAA, C2 By Mark Rosner American-Statesman Staff NEW ORLEANS The respective images of North Carolina and Michigan can be defined by a couple of jokes, one old and the other pretty new.

Who is the only person who could hold Michael Jordan under 30 points? Dean Smith, of course. And what is Steve Fisher thinking as he stands on the sideline watching his Fab Five play its high-risk, taunting style of basket- ball? Why, Fisher is just trying to figure out what time Jalen Rose wants to practice tomorrow. Indeed, these two teams that will play tonight for the NCAA championship represent a contrast in philosophy. Michigan is jazz improvization in which soloists are allowed to flourish. Carolina is a structured symphony in4 which not even a Michael Jordan is permitted to stand out front.

Carolina has been described as the model college system matched against Michigan's NBA-style team. "Michigan is really athletic. North Carolina is fundamentally sound, almost perfect execution," said Kansas center Eric Pauley, whose team lost to both. Carolina is a place where a freshman knows his place. He carries 1 (PA A fits crown Swoopes' 47 i point Tech to i 1st national title The '93 Sheryl unquestionably is the best ever Anyone for Sheryl vs.

Cheryl? Now that Sheryl Swoopes has led Texas Tech to a magical first-ever national championship, about the only unanswered question is whether she's the best ever to play the women's college game. A month ago, I didn't think she was in the same league with Cheryl Miller, the versatile star who led Southern California to back-to-back national titles almost a decade ago. But that was before Swoopes went on the most incredible tournament run in the history of basketball. It's scary to think about, but Swoopes, who played only two years of major college basketball, seemed to be getting better in the last month. On Sunday she wowed Ohio State and a national TV audience by scoring a staggering 47 points in an NCAA championship game.

The old record for a title game was 28 points, a total that Ohio State freshman Katie Smith was able to tally in a futile effort to match Swoopes. One championship game like Swoopes had is the stuff of legends. But she's been putting up those kinds of numbers ever since it became tournament time. No one held her under 30 points in the NCAA tournament, and she didn't exactly arrive there unannounced. 't f-' iLn I John Maher Swoopes did perhaps the worst thing a player can do entering an NCAA tournament, which is have a AW 1 I ii Tech's Krista Kirkland, right, tries to block Averrill Roberts' shot.

Kirkland's 14 points included three treys- By Chuck Schoffner Associated Press I ATLANTA A championship game record for Sheryl Swoopes, a championship for her team. Texas Tech's wondrous season is complete. Swoopes showed why she was the national player of the year, scoring 47 points to cap a record-breaking run through the NCAA tournament and lead Texas Tech to its first women's title with an 84-82 victory Sunday over Ohio State. It was the most points in an NCAA championship game by a man or woman and the second most in any NCAA tournament game by a woman. The 6-foot senior also set a championship game record for points in one half (24) and tournament marks for total points (177 in five games) and free throws (57).

"There are no words to explain how great a player Sheryl Swoopes is," Texas Tech Coach Marsha Sharp said. "We're pleased she was able to show the nation as a whole the great things she was capable of doing." Swoopes, voted the Final Four's outstanding player, carried Tech to the title in its first Final Four appearance. The Lady Raiders finished with 19 straight, victories and a 31-3 record and broke a 14-game win- ning streak for Ohio State (28-4). "Our players did what we wanted all year long, ant they executed the game plan today," Sharp said. "These are great kids.

They always seem to do whatever it takes. It is a great moment for Tech, for -durl fans, for our program and for our conference." Tech became the second Southwest Conference school to win the women's title, following Texas iiC 1986. Swoopes obliterated the record of 28 points in at- See Lady, C3 huge game right before it starts. In the Southwest Conference tournament championship game, she blistered the Texas team she almost joined for 53 points. That's the most points any player has ever scored against Jody Conradt's Lady Longhorns.

If anyone was hurting for billboard material on college basketball's player of the year, all they had to do was post that box score. Every team she faced knew that stopping her was the key to the game. At Tech Swoopes didn't have Pam and Paula McGee the way Miller did. She didn't have Andrea Lloyd, Kamie Ethridge and Beverly Williams the way Clarissa Davis did. She didn't have James Worthy and Sam Perkins like Michael Jordan did when he won his lone NCAA title.

All she had for a supporting cast was a bunch of West Texas kids who'd be lucky to make the NCAA tournament without her. At 6 feet, Swoopes doesn't enjoy any great height advantage the way Vanderbilt's 6-foot-10-inch Heidi Gillingham does. Every women's NCAA team has 6-footers, it's just that none of them could stop Swoopes. Not even when they packed into a zone. Swoopes plays so upright that she looks stiff, almost mechanical.

She dribbles so high that it looks like it should be easy to poke check the basketball away from her. A lot of her moves don't appear all that spectacular. But they don't have to be because Swoopes is just too darn quick for anybody in the women's game to guard. She routinely blows by the best defenders and then shoots over even the tallest with a release that's the best in the game. On Sunday, Swoopes hit four of her six three-point attempts.

That kind of touch means it's impossible to See Swoopes, C3 AP an NCAA championship game (47) and in a half (24) and for total points and free throws in an NCAA tournament. This might be a record-setting victory jump. Tech's Sheryl Swoopes set records for most points scored In oopla hitting Rangers Spurs stumble in OT Jackson plans protest; Clinton on mound for opener BASEBALL: OPENING DAY '93 Texas Rangers (Lefferts 1-3) at Baltimore Orioles (Sutcliffe 16-15), 12:35 p.m. Philadelphia Phillies (Muiholland 13-11) at Houston Astros (Drabek 15-11), 6:35 p.m. New-look Astros need a strong start to shed an old label for Manager Art Howe.

Rockies and Marlins ready for expansion tumps. Indians' emotional opener will draw 70,000. Pitching matchups, game times, weather reports AH stories on page CS AL batting champ Martinez goes on DL; final exhibition roundup. C4 from HemisFair Arena with a gift-wrapped 108-103 overtime victory A gutsy comeback from a 13-point deficit and a club-record 81 percent shooting quarter (13 of 16 field goals in the third period) went for naught because the Spurs, primarily Robinson, couldn't make free throws. "I can't be upset with our effort.

It was there," Coach John Lucas said. "But the free throws really hurt us." Robinson missed his last five tries of the night, including two with 1 minute, 48 seconds left that See Knicks, C7 By Randy Riggs American-Statesman Staff SAN ANTONIO With the game on the line, the smartest thing the New York Knicks did was put David Robinson on the line. Literally and figuratively, it was an exceedingly foul experience for the Spurs and their All-Star center. Robinson, a 75 percent free-throw shooter, missed 12 of 18 from the line Sunday night. That, as much as anything, was why and how the red-hot Knicks escaped That game will be one of nine played te day on Opening Day 1993, including the'de-buts of two National League expansion teams.

The Florida Marlins will play host td Los Angeles Dodgers, and Austinite -Don Baylor will lead the Colorado Rockies on the field for the first time against the New Y0rl Mets. The new-look Houston Astros with -a pitching staff bolstered through free agency will face the Philadelphia Phillies in the 'As trodome at 6:35 p.m. (HSE, Cable The Rangers-Orioles game should be worr thy of the hoopla surrounding it. The Ori- See Texas, C5 By David Ginsburg Associated Press BALTIMORE Outside, Jesse Jackson and some 1,000 demonstrators plan to launch a campaign to protest baseball's minority hiring practices. Inside, Bill Clinton will start the second season at Camden Yards by becoming the first Democratic president since Jimmy Carter to throw out the first ball.

Oh yes, there will also be a baseball game today, as the Orioles open the 1993 season at 12:30 p.m. against the Texas Rangers (televised on KVC, Channel 13 Cable 13)..