GtMOH TheWomenWnAndl/Hin

Some Cinderellas wear glass sneakers.

Inaragstorichestransformation, the Lady Flames basketballteam definitely turned heads asit brushed offthe previous year's5-22 finishandposted a22-7 record, tying theNCAA's bestseason turnaround.

Preseason pollspicked Libertyto finish seventh intheleague ofeight. However, theLU squad captured theBig South Championship andheaded straightfor the BigDance.

The 96-97version oftheLady Flames combined thestellarplay ofall-conference freshmen Elena Kisseleva, Sarahand Sharon Wilkerson with veteranexperience touniteone ofthegreatestteams inschool history.

Throughout theseason, the Lady Flames setrecord afterrecord includingthe following: most Liberty wins ina season, biggestLibertyturnaround, largest Liberty crowd forawomen's basketball game (2,263), first ever sweep ofRadford, Liberty'smost pointsinagame (38 by Kisseleva), largestBig South crowd (2,319), first appearance inthefinal round of the Big South Tournament, first triptothe NCA A Tournamentetc..

Head Coach Rick Reeves picked up his 83rd victory (hefinished with 87), making him thewinningest coach inthehistoryof Libertywomen's basketball. In addition, hewasnamed coach of theyearfortheBig SouthConference.

Inthis fairy-tale-come-true, the midnight bell never endedthe magic.

-Laurelei Miller

peights

Above: Elena Kisseleva sunk16of17 free throws.

Right: GenieStinnett let her teammatesknowshe wasreadyforathree.

Below: Theteamwatched the play while the coach watchedtheclock

itComes TruefortheLadies\

Cal.1 it irony, but before the game, someone tossed the theme to "Rocky" into the tape deck Then Liberty played thepartofthecome back kid toperfection

No. 1 seed UN C Greensboro assumed therole ofGoliath in the Big South tournament championshiptitlefight.Theleague'spowerhousehad crushed conference competition throughout theseason.

Itmay have takenmore thanone rockto deliver the fatalblow, but in a contestfullofblood, sweat, teethand cheers,Liberty's ladiesconquered the formidableopponent89-82 Thetourneyvictoryearned LU itsfirsteverBigSouthwomen's titleand atripto theBig Dance.

"The Lord has reallyblessed us," Flames Head Coach Rick Reeves said."Ifsalways been a dream ofmine tocoach intheNCA A tournament."

In lastyear's conference post-season,theSpartans annihilated LU in the firstround;and inboth regularseasonmeetingsthisyear,theSpartansdealt theHames double-digitdefeats.

Midway through the firstperiod,LU's Sharon Wilkersonexitedthefloorwhen—in trueWilkerson style she dove fora loose balland found herself face-to-face with the hardwood. The collisionresultedinaknocked outtooth, two facialgashesand a blackeye

After taking an 11-point deficitinto halftime, a determined Hames team manned the court inthe secondperiod Sharonreturnedwithamouth guard and eight stitches

Slowly, LU chiseled away thedouble-digitdeficit; and amidst the roar of a thrilled crowd, Sarah Wilkerson tossedup consecutivelayupstoeventhe score at 69. LU followed with a 10-1 run in which UNC G missed sixstraightfield goals "When they start getting down, they don't know how to function,"Wilkerson said."Ithink we kind of shocked them."

LU'sforward Elena Kisseleva sank 16 of 17 free throws as she poured in32points.

After dominating thetournament and leading the league in scoring,Kisselevaearnedthe Most Valuable Player of the tournament Both Wilkersons joined Kisseleva on the All-Tournament team.

by Michael Speigh -Laurelei Miller

Top left: The phrase "playing likea girl" tookon a whole new meaning asJenniferJess,Genie Stinnett and ErinWall collidedwiththefloorand scrambled forloose balls Top right: ErinWallfoughtfortheballwithall her might.Center left: Sarah Wilkerson drove forthegoal. Center right: Sharon Wilkerson returned toplay afterlosing a tooth and breaking another and gettingeightstitches in thefirst period ofplay.Bottom left: Fans stormed the Vines Centerfloorfollowing the Lady Flames 89-92 upsetvictory over UNC Greensboro