Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 11, 1993 TAG: 9311120089
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: S-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Glenvar girls' basketball coach Dennis Layman, the architect of that string of regular-season Pioneer District titles, was worried about the 1993 season. For good reasons, too.
Reason No. 1: His team was young. Six of the 10 girls had never played on the varsity level. Not exactly the kind of experience that leaves opposing coaches quaking in their boots.
Reason No. 2: Three starters from 1992, including the team's leading scorer and the Pioneer District's player of the year, graduated, leaving the four players with varsity experience some pretty big shoes to fill.
Layman knew his team was young. And inexperienced. There was nothing he could do but let his players take their lumps and maybe finish the season with a winning record.
"With only four kids coming back with any varsity experience, there was a tendency to think we were really green," Layman said. "And we were."
He wasn't exactly bubbling with confidence at the start of the season.
Neither was his team.
"I thought we were going to be a horrible team this year," said 5-foot-6 junior forward Kristi Robinson. "I was so afraid. We had no idea of what freshmen would be playing with us."
But the Highlanders have exceeded expectations this year. They've clinched the regular-season Pioneer District title - Glenvar's 10th in a row - and have a solid shot at qualifying for the Group A state tournament.
Not only that, but the four freshmen have done quite well, thank you.
Amanda Bishop and Amanda Rydell, both 5-9 centers, have done a solid job, Rydell providing mostly defense, Bishop mostly offense. Amanda Kennedy, a 5-5 guard, has been solid as the backup at the point. She was 6-for-8 on field-goal attempts in the Highlanders' 62-26 victory over Highland County on Nov. 4, the game that clinched the district title.
Then there's 5-5 freshman guard Jamie Dowdy, whose quickness has helped her frustrate opposing offenses.
"She's like a little cat," Layman said. "She sneaks up from behind, and just dogs teams wherever they are."
All this success has surprised Layman.
"I mean, you have ninth-graders who are 14 years old going up against 18-year-old seniors. This was the most inexperienced group I've ever had."
The group was young, but James River head coach Sheila Profitt said the Highlanders' success hasn't surprised her. The Glenvar players hardly are rookies, she points out.
"They're young, but in years of experience they're more experienced than most varsity players," she said. "They have good feeder programs. Other teams around here don't. So, although our girls may be older in age, they're not older in basketball experience."
Now, Glenvar has a chance to reach the state tournament. By winning the regular-season district title, the Highlanders (16-4 overall, 11-1 in the district) have clinched a Group A Region C tournament berth. They will receive a bye into the semifinals and will play the winner of the game matching the No. 2 teams in the Mountain Empire and Hogoheegee districts.
That means Glenvar will avoid Mountain Empire District regular-season champion, Floyd County (20-1), a Group A semifinalist last year, and Hogoheegee District regular-season champion Rural Retreat (18-1).
"With this group, it's advantageous for us to be in this position," Layman said. "I just came into this season open-minded. I didn't even really bring it up about winning the 10th straight district title."
The Highlanders, who lost to Floyd County 47-43 in a Region C semifinal last year, should be well-prepared to play the tougher Group A schools in the state. The Highlanders have split the six games they've played against Group AA schools this year, beating Northside twice and William Byrd once.
"I think we can do it [reach the state tournament this year] if we play hard and don't go out in the clouds anywhere," said 5-8 junior forward Marilea Hale.
It is the performances of Hale, Robinson and 5-4 guard Toree Morris that have sparked this year's team. Hale has hit 54 percent of her field-goal attempts and averages 9.2 rebounds per game.
Robinson is ranked seventh in Timesland with 5.5 assists a game, and Morris is seventh in Timesland in 3-point accuracy at 37 percent. Add the senior leadership of 5-5 guard Heather Beveridge, and it's not hard to see why Glenvar is tough again.
Layman said he doesn't think the pressure of tournament play will unravel his younger players.
"The freshmen don't have enough experience to know that they should be nervous," he said. "They went into this season with this happy bliss and abandon."
And as for the experienced players, they're already worrying about next year.
"I think this would be a great year for us [to go to state tournament]," Robinson said. "We thought if we were bad, that'd be OK. People would have thought that anyway. Next year, we'll be seniors and have all that pressure on us to do well."
by CNB