'Cliffe Cagers Explode in Second Half, Storm Over Wheaton Quintet, 50-40

A hot-shooting Radcliffe basketball squad caught fire in the second half and outgunned Wheaton, 50-40, last night in the I.A.B.

The Crimson spurted to a 10-6 lead on the strength of Cheryl Gelzer's domination of the offensive and defensive boards in the early minutes. The Wheaton five then teeled off eight unanswered points as the Radcliffe defense lapsed.

Two in a Row

Shaking off their cold spell, the Radcliffe quintet's defense tightened and the offense showed signs of life when Kathy Fulton fired in a 30 footer to bring the Crimson within two points.

The teams traded goals until the Cliffe slingers shot in two successive baskets to end the first half in a 24-24 draw.

Coach Mark Haverland certainly must have been worried during the contest's midway interlude. Before the opening tip-off, he had said he expected an easy game against what he felt to be a weak squad from Norton. Yet at half-time the teams were deadlocked.

His puzzlement must have quickly vanished at the start of the second stanza. A Wheaton guard grabbed a tip-off and swiftly drove down the court the wrong way, leaving nine startled players behind.

Realizing her error, she changed direction before scoring a Radcliffe bucket and sheepishly started what must have been a long trip back upcourt.

Shortly thereafter, Gelzer banked the ball in to give the Crimson a lead which they never relinquished. The Radcliffe guns never cooled from that point on, as they methodically enlarged their lead and walked away with the victory.

The win was the second straight for coach Haverland's charges and he said last night he expects good things from them.

Fatigue

The team was tired having just played eight games in six days and at times they looked like it. In the final 20 minutes, however, their play was cohesive.

The squad was also still without the use of either injured co-captain Sue Williams or Lissa Muscatine.

Despite these disadvantages, the Radcliffe five played what Haverland called "our game." Co-captain Maude Wood elaborated, saying, "we were getting the ball in to our center and for the first time we were blocking out on defense."

Problems are Gone

The game's star, Gelzer, who finished the night with 14 points in addition to controlling the boards, said the team has surged recently because "the early-season coaching problems are gone.