Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, November 16, 1993 TAG: 9311160136
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
"We get to take a trip and have some fun," said Christiansburg coach Danny Knott. "We have to work real hard and do the same things we did in those two games [the district tournament]. We have to play the game the way we can. When these girls make up their mind to do something, they can do it."
The Blue Demons (11-11) open play in their first Region IV tournament in seven years tonight at 7:30 at Grundy (18-4), the Southwest District tournament champion.
The winner travels to Gate City (18-4) for the semifinals Thursday night. The finals are Saturday.
The first obstacle for Christiansburg will be the 130-mile bus trip that will take the team through West Virginia and within a dozen miles of Kentucky.
"In the past, we haven't had too good of time [on long trips]," said Rebecca McNeil, a 6-foot senior center. "But this is different. Most of the trips were early in the year. This team has become better. We work as hard as we can and we've learned to play as a team."
Also potentially making the trip rough will be the host Golden Wave. One of the tallest teams in the region, it has four 6-footers.
"We're pretty strong [inside]," said Grundy coach Leslie Boyd. "We've got a team that's the biggest in our district over the last few years. And we go inside and outside with the point guard and the 6-footers."
The point guard is 5-6 senior Tracy Wysor (11.8 points, 4.0 assists). The best big player is junior Amy Stiltner (13.7 points, 11.0 rebounds).
In the Demons, Grundy will see another power team. McNeil (18.6 points, 7.9 rebounds) and 5-11 junior Maureen Jackson (8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds) provide the offense and defense inside.
Also, Christiansburg has discovered a secret formula for success they hope will take them to their first regional title since 1986.
"A lot of times, we'll start out a game slowly," said Jackson. "So we decided [in practice] that we want to come out and sweat. That gets us going. We just have to come out and play and hustle."
Another Christiansburg victory means another road trip Thursday. This one would be even longer - 148 miles - and would go through Tennessee.
Gate City, the winner of both the regular season and tournament titles in the Highlands District, has relied on two outstanding sophomore guards: 5-5 Lindsay Carter (17.5 points) and 5-4 Beth Godsey (13.9 points, 8 assists, 4 steals).
However, Godsey missed the district tournament with a combination of strep throat, pneumonia and mononucleosis. Her status for Thursday's game is unknown.
Center Kerri Beasley (11.5 points), a 6-1 junior, patrols inside for the Blue Devils.
by CNB