Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 13, 1991                   TAG: 9103130037
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HIGH SCHOOL TEAMS HAVE ONLY ONE MORE HILL TO CLIMB

If they do, they will be playing for a state Group AAA basketball title on Saturday at William and Mary Hall in Williamsburg.

In the last few years, though, it's been a feat just for Roanoke Valley District teams to make the state tournament because they haven't been winning games.

Cave Spring, which challenges Huguenot of Richmond in this afternoon's opener at 2, is making its fourth straight trip to the Group AAA tournament and hasn't won a game in the previous three trips.

Pulaski County takes on Petersburg tonight at 8:45 in the Cougars' first state tournament appearance in modern times. Pulaski County won the 1928 championship, but that was before the Virginia High School League took over running interscholastic athletics.

In other high school action, the Group A boys' tournament opens at Charlottesville, where the only Timesland entry is George Wythe. The Maroons, who played in the Group AA tournament last year, meet Lancaster today at 3:45 p.m.

Wythe (21-5) has been a perennial participant in the Group AA tournament, but has had little success on the state level. Though the Maroons won't be the favorites in Group A, they could be a factor with 6-foot-4 center Allen Green.

Lancaster likely will try to force an up-tempo game against Wythe. "We'll try and control that," said Wythe coach Al Copenhaver. "As I look down through their roster, they're going to have to show me someone who can control Green."

The Wythe senior center was Hogoheegee District player of the year with a 16.8 scoring average. Geoff Goff, the point guard, will be entrusted to control the Lancaster running game.

The Red Devils (18-7) have three double figure scorers headed by 5-11 Morgan Jones (14.0 ppg.), but they lost leading scorer Eric Frisby, a guard who broke a leg late in the season.

The Group AAA boys' tournament is scheduled for Williamsburg, and the Group AA boys play in Charlottesville. Both tournaments start Thursday.

Cave Spring and Pulaski County made the Northwestern Region girls' final, which the Cougars won 41-39 in overtime to claim a 3-2 edge in this season's series.

To get to the state tournament, Pulaski County had to win three road games for the regional title and Cave Spring had to upset highly regarded Gar-Field, the defending regional champion.

Now the Knights (22-4) face unbeaten Huguenot (28-0).

"I'd like to think the pressure is on them," said Cave Spring coach David Layman. "Sometimes when a team is undefeated, there's pressure because people expect a lot."

Phoebus and James Madison are other unbeaten teams in the Group AAA field. Layman said he thinks his team's championship in the Fort Eustis tournament might help. Phoebus had won it the year before, but didn't play in this year's event.

"We won a tournament at High Point the year before, and that helped us during the regular season. I compare Huguenot to the Gloucester team we beat at Fort Eustis in that it is physical and has good size and good guards," said Layman.

Huguenot has point guard Lisa McCloud, who averages 22.9 points and 6.8 assists per game, to test the Knights and a couple of tall girls underneath who will battle 6-foot Lisa Hodges, a 13.2 scorer, and 5-10 Ali Colgrove, who averages 15.3 points.

Pulaski County (23-2) takes on Petersburg (22-4), which lost 58-48 to Salem of Virginia Beach in the state tournament a year ago.

The biggest difference for Pulaski County and Cave Spring is that the Knights are in the same bracket as James Madison, which is 19th-ranked nationally in the USA Today poll and a heavy favorite to win the Group AAA title.

"The thing is that Petersburg has been there. They have all five starters back. Those players have been to the state, and that counts for something," said Pulaski County coach Rod Reedy.

The Cougars will have to stop 5-10 Melanie Noise (15.7 ppg.) underneath and will counter with Roanoke Valley District player of the year Terri Garland (16.8 ppg.) out front.

Garland was playing with a badly bruised thigh when Pulaski County won at North Stafford in the first round of the regional. She's 100 percent now.