Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 10, 1991 TAG: 9103100253
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Cougars held for one shot in overtime in the Northwestern Region girls' basketball tournament final, and Lena Jones made that strategy pay off by converting an offensive rebound into the winning basket in Pulaski County's 41-39 victory over Cave Spring.
It was the fifth time the Roanoke Valley District teams have met this season. Pulaski County (23-2) has won three times, including both games at Cave Spring.
Both teams advance to the Group AAA state tournament, which begins Wednesday in Williamsburg. It is the fourth straight year the Knights (21-4) have advanced to state play.
Jones gave the Cougars the regional championship when she successfully followed-up a missed shot by Terri Garland with two seconds left.
Cave Spring got a timeout with one second on the clock but misfired on its inbounds pass and time expired.
"I thought she was going to make it," said Jones, a 5-foot-11 1/2 post player who overcame momentary surprise to hit the winning shot. "I just went up with it. [At first] I didn't know what to do with [the missed shot]. It hit me in the lip."
Pulaski County called timeout with 14 seconds left in the overtime to set up for a final shot. The inbounds pass went to Garland, who dribbled, drove the lane and went in for a layup with about five seconds to go.
"We wanted to spread them out and then go inside," said Garland, who paced Pulaski County with 11 points.
Cave Spring won the tip at the beginning of the overtime period.
The Knights' Jennifer Kagey missed a layup with about 2 1/2 minutes left and the ball bounded out of bounds, last touched by the Knights to give Pulaski County possession.
The Cougars then set to the task of running down the clock. Garland, Becky Smith and Kristie Ratcliffe kept the Cave Spring defenders at bay for the next 80 seconds.
Pulaski County called timeout with 1:10 to go. The Cougars then ran almost a minute off the clock before calling another timeout to set up the last attempt.
"I have a lot of confidence in our ability to hold the ball," said Pulaski County coach Rod Reedy. "We've done it successfully several times this season where we've held for one shot. I'll take getting the clock to running out and going for it. We get the ball into Garland's hands and see what happens."
In the fourth quarter, it was Cave Spring that played the waiting game, but the Knights were unable to pull it off.
Kagey hit a jumper from the right wing to tie the score at 39 with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter. The basket capped a furious comeback by the Knights, who trailed 32-16 early in the second half.
Pulaski County tried to hold the ball but turned it over with four minutes remaining in regulation.
Cave Spring called time out and came back stalling. The Knights called time out again with 29 seconds to go to set up for a winning shot, but the Knights never got off a shot, turning over the ball inside with about five seconds to go.
A desperation shot from half court by Pulaski County's Smith bounced off the left side of the rim, and the teams went into overtime.
"We were tired because we had been chasing them down," said Cave Spring coach Dave Layman. "We felt the best thing was to go for one shot. We expected them to come out [and defend closer], but we weren't upset they didn't."
That Cave Spring was in a position to win was a feat in itself. The Knights missed 15 straight shots and committed nine turnovers during a 12-minute span that began midway through the first period and didn't end until after halftime.
Then the Knights hit 11 of 19 shots in the first 12 minutes of the second half. Ali Colgrove scored seven of her game-high 17 points and Kagey added six during the run.
Pulaski County opened a five-point lead in the first quarter as Smith scored eight of her 10 points. It then took advantage of the Knights' poor shooting and used balanced scoring to extend the advantage to 14 points at halftime and 16 points early in the third period.
The loss marked the first time Cave Spring fell in a tournament this season. The Knights won the Fort Eustis Christmas Tournament and the Roanoke Valley District Tournament, beating Pulaski County in the district final.
Because of their loss in the district tournament, the Cougars were forced to play on the road in the regionals, but they went away from Stafford, E.C. Glass and Cave Spring victorious.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB