Lady Friars Edge Terriers In Northeast Hoop Finals

The Providence College Lady Friars vanquished the Boston University Terriers, 68-58, at the IAB yesterday to capture the Eastern Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (EAIAW) Division 1A basketball championship.

As the Northeast regional champions, Providence moves to the Eastern regional tournament with a bye in the first round. Runner-up B.U. also advances to the regional tourney and will host Kansas State Wednesday.

Senior guard Lynn Sheedy ignited the Lady Friar offense with ten assists and 11 points, while an aggressive zone frustrated B.U. junior star Debra Miller, holding her to two first-half points.

Miller finished as the game's highest scorer and rebounded with 19 points and 11 caroms.

Terrier guard Terry Shinkwin's shooting kept B.U. within eight points until 8:41 remained in the first half, when Providence guard Peggy Egan hit her third consecutive 25-footer to give her team a 20-10 lead.

Providence returned for the second half with a 35-20 advantage, forcing B.U. from a zone into a man-to-man defense. Sheedy took control of the game by utilizing her impeccable passing and dribbling skills to spread out the Lady Friars' offense and feed her teammates for countless backdoor layups.

The Terriers chiseled a 48-27 deficit to eight points at 64-56 with 1:21 remaining, but two free throws by Providence guard Kathy Dwyer with 28 seconds left sealed B.U.'s fate.

In the consolation game, Fordham's Lady Rams gored the taller Queens College Knights, 75-64, behind center Anne Gregory's 30-point, 19-rebound effort.

Gregory, an All-East and probable All-American selection, capped her career with 2500 points and 1999 rebounds, fouling out to a lengthy ovation with one minute remaining.

Saturday's semifinal contest was a two-chapter story. Fordham dominated the first chapter, with B.U. never far behind. The Rams led, 61-58, with less than a minute to play, but B.U. refused to die, and won on a 25-ft. swisher by guard Shinkwin.

In the second semifinal, top-seeded Queens fell to a Providence team that employed a quick-moving attack and a defense that isolated the Knights' star Sheila Horak. Providence walked away with a 71-64 upset.