Things are looking up for the Radcliffe basketball team. The cagers trounced a smaller Bentley team on Friday, 64-47, in what coach Mark Haverland called "the best game we've played this season."

"Everybody played, and everybody played well," junior Denise Thal said yesterday. "We could have started nine different people and not given much up."

Thal's 13 points led a balanced Radcliffe attack in which ten players scored. Close behind were freshman Susan Hewitt with 12 and junior Susan Williams with 10.

Well-executed plays and a stiff defense helped Radcliffe explode to a 15-4 advantage in the opening minutes. After Bentley stormed back with eight unanswered points, Radcliffe began to dominate the boards and the game. Bentley never led.

"I think some players played up to their potential who hadn't shown much before," Haverland said. "Sue Williams and Lissa Muscatine were really outstanding. That might have been the difference."

Cheering Fans

Haverland also felt that the largest crowd of the year helped the Radcliffe cause. "It really helped to have those fans out," he said. "I noticed a real change in their attitude when the crowd started to pick up.

"We weren't in peak condition when we came back from a long Christmas break," Williams said yesterday. "But our plays were really working on Friday."

The victory raised Radcliffe's record to 3-3, but Williams felt that the Bentley team was one of the easiest teams on the schedule.

"It wasn't like we were just going to beat them from the start," Thal said. "The way we've played before, they could have beaten us. It just shows that if the team can get it together, we can really do well."