Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, October 15, 1993 TAG: 9310150175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Before Thursday, the Cavaliers' average margin of victory in their past 12 games was 32.7 points. In its latest outing, Lord Botetourt played a fairly close game before racking up Northside 44-26 on Thursday night in a Blue Ridge District matchup on the Vikings' court.
Northside was only three points down in the final minute of the third quarter. Lord Botetourt (14-1 overall, 4-0 in the Blue Ridge) didn't seem to be concentrating on the Vikings. The Cavaliers, Timesland's second-ranked team, had visions of William Byrd in their heads as they prepared to meet the Blue Ridge co-leader Tuesday for the first time this season.
Then, Botetourt's defense took over and the Cavaliers pulled away in the final quarter.
"I think we weren't focused," said Botetourt forward Ashley Moore, who led both teams with 14 points. "Maybe we were looking ahead to Byrd. We should have known Northside is tough.
"Tonight taught us something. We need to come out and play hard against everyone."
Botetourt's defense, switching between man-to-man and zone, confused the Vikings. Northside (5-9, 1-3) was outscored 11-0 during a stretch from the middle of the second period to the middle of the third as the Cavaliers took a 22-16 lead.
In the final 19 minutes, 30 seconds, Northside scored just one field goal - that by Shannon Yopp, who had 10 points. Lord Botetourt put away the Vikings with a 17-4 blitz in the fourth quarter.
"If we were looking ahead to Byrd, this was a good reminder how important every game is even though we try to emphasize one game at a time," said David Wheat, Northside's coach. "But, hey, give Northside credit. They were pumped and played hard."
Foul problems plagued Botetourt, and Wheat had four of his starters sitting next to him with four fouls for the final few minutes of the third period. Point guard Laurie Ottaway, who averages 3.8 assists per game, fouled out with only one assist.
The Cavaliers' offense started clicking in the final quarter as Lord Botetourt's two 6-footers, Moore and Jenny Gates, started pitching the ball to each other inside for baskets as they solved the Vikings' zone.
"I had a feeling they'd start hitting before it was over," said Marilyn Bussey, Northside's coach. "It seems we lost a lot of our aggressiveness. We felt real good when we were down by two at the half, but we finally had to go man-to-man when we got behind."
Botetourt made only 15 of 52 shots from the field, but kept control of the boards 50-36 thanks to Molly McCorkle's 13 rebounds and Moore's nine. Northside connected on only seven of 47 from the field, including one of 25 in the final 16 minutes.
by CNB