There is a sign in the Marymount meeting room that reads, "Great teams have two things in common: Rebounding and Defense." In case the players missed that one, a sign bearing the same message also hangs on the door of Coach Bill Finney's office.
The Saints used rebounding and defense throughout their 76-53 victory over York in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament championship game yesterday in Arlington.
Senior Annetta Benjamin had 15 points and nine rebounds and helped hold York's leading scorer, Heather Kessler, scoreless. The top-seeded Saints (24-4) outrebounded York 53-39, had 23 offensive rebounds and held the Spartans to 20 percent shooting in the second half (7 for 35).
Marymount also earned its 12th bid to the NCAA Division III tournament in the past 15 years.
Kessler, a junior guard, had scored 30 points in a semifinal victory over Catholic on Thursday. She averaged nearly 19 points for the third-seeded Spartans (16-11). However, she had 15 points combined in three games against Marymount, all losses, and was 0 for 11 yesterday.
"When I saw the box score from the Catholic game and saw Kessler had 30 and [Ashley] Robertson had 23, I was pleased," Finney said. "It was better than if they had a lot of different people scoring. We play very good defense, and I think Annetta is the best defensive player I have ever coached."
Benjamin, a senior from Hayfield High, was not the only weapon. Senior Katie Jarvis (Robinson) had a game-high 16 points and sophomore Randi Jones (Liberty) added 13 points.
York trailed 38-37 following a basket by Jess Huntley with 19 minutes 6 seconds to play. But the Saints went on a 17-4 run and took a 55-42 lead following a putback by Benjamin with 13 minutes to play. The Spartans did not get within 11.
Heidi Miller had 12 points and Robertson added 11 for York.
"Coach told us that this team rebounds like no other team," Jarvis said. "He's been telling us that all week, that no one rebounds like we do."
The Saints have been to the NCAA round of 16 six times and went to the Final Four in 2002. After the win yesterday, Finney said he thought this year's team was better than the one that went to the Final Four.
The Saints certainly have good players. Jones is the career leading scorer at Liberty High in Bealeton, Va. Jarvis and reserve Ashlee Courter each have more than 1,000 points in their college careers. And freshman starting guard Nikki Rowland was the most valuable player in the AAA National District as a senior at Mount Vernon last year.
"This team can score and rebound and play defense," Finney said. "If you look at all we can do and our record, I think we are the best team in the area."
• VIRGINIA TECH 85, PITTSBURGH 55: The Hokies had four players score in double figures, shooting 63.8 percent in Blacksburg, Va.
