A CLASSIC GARDEN DAY
Maggie Dixon would have been proud. She would have been proud at the level of play. She would have been proud of the intensity of the competition. And she would have been shocked that more than 5,000 fans came to Madison Square Garden yesterday for a women’s college basketball doubleheader.
No. 17 Duke (7-3) scored with less than two seconds left to edge Pittsburgh (6-3), 51-49, and No. 4 Rutgers (6-2) pulled away from Army (5-4) for a 59-42 victory. But those are just results.
“Life has its ups and downs,” said an emotional Pitt coach Agnus Berenato, who, with tears in her eyes, shook hands with every media member who attended the doubleheader.
“Today’s a down day with regards to the score,” Berenato said. “It was a great day at work until the final 1.2 seconds.”
That’s when Duke’s Joy Cheeks put back an offensive rebound for the win. But the true winners were women’s college basketball and the memory of Dixon, the former Army coach who died April 6, 2006 from complications stemming from an enlarged heart.
The inaugural Maggie Dixon Classic was played last year at Army, where Dixon had led the Cadets to their first Patriot League title in her first and only season on the bench. Her brother, Jamie, is the head coach of the men’s team at Pittsburgh and he worked with Army and Garden officials to bring the tournament here.
“Jamie had a vision to come here,” Army coach Dave Magarity said.
Rutgers coach C. Vivien Stringer did not open the game with her starters. She used five reserves to send a message to her starters who did not come out strong in their last game, a 49-44 loss at Duke on Thursday.
“We’re honored to play in the Maggie Dixon Classic,” Stringer said. “Obviously she has been a source of inspiration to all young coaches and I think it gives a tremendous amount of hope to the young cadets.”
