ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 1996 TAG: 9602210049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT
SOURCE: CHAD WILLIS STAFF WRITER
For 16 minutes, the Pulaski County Cougars looked as if they might catnap through their biggest girls' basketball game of the season.
Trailing Cave Spring by eight at halftime and shooting just 30 percent from the field, Pulaski County was in danger of letting the Roanoke Valley District regular-season title slip away.
But the sleeping cat awoke after intermission. Inspired by guard Katrina Williams' 16 second-half points, the Cougars rallied to defeat the Knights 57-53.
Pulaski County (15-6 overall, 11-2 in the district) won the district's regular-season title and an automatic berth in the Group AAA Northwest region playoffs.
``This is what we wanted, the district title and the automatic bid to the regions,'' Williams said. ``No one thought we could do it. We just wanted to prove them wrong.''
Cave Spring (13-7, 10-3) now must look to the RVD tournament for a possible regional berth.
``I believe Cave Spring has only won the regular season once,'' said Knights coach Linda Long. "We normally have to rely on the tournament to get to regions.''
Williams paced the Cougars with a game-high 24 points and Lisa Skeens tossed in 10. Cheryl Rhodes led the Knights with 16 points.
Pulaski County forced five turnovers and connected on 7 of 10 field goals in the second half's first three minutes, resulting in a 15-0 run and 33-26 Cougar lead.
``We've been a second-half team all year,'' said Pulaski County coach Buddy Farris. ``We started hitting our shots in the second half. That was the difference.''
The Cougars shot 50 percent in the second half while holding the Knights to 33 percent (8-of-24).
``My philosophy, and I tell the team this, is that the first three minutes of the third quarter is critical,'' Long said. "We just didn't play smart during that time tonight.''
Despite the Cougars' tenacious defense and red-hot shooting, the Knights refused to go quietly.
Cave Spring continued to chip away at Pulaski County's lead, closing the third quarter with a 5-0 run that cut the margin to two.
That would be as close as the Knights would get as Skeens and Williams made back-to-back 3-pointers to open the final quarter.
``I knew I had to come out in the second half and step up my game,'' Williams said. ``But it wasn't just me, everyone stepped up.''
Pulaski County's comeback was made all the more spectacular following its first-half woes.
Cave Spring closed the first half with a 12-4 run, giving the Knights their biggest lead of the game, 26-18.
The Cougars struggled over the half's final 4:49, connecting on just 2 of 8 shots from the field and 0 of 3 from the free-throw line.
``We said at halftime we were going to have to run our offense better if we were going to beat Cave Spring,'' Farris said. ``I'm really proud of our girls because they hung in there and worked hard in the second half.
``This is the first time Pulaski County has ever beaten Cave Spring three times in a regular season. It's just a great accomplishment for the girls.''
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB