Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993 TAG: 9311240174
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MONETA LENGTH: Medium
The late shot that has been falling turned out to be around-the-rim-and-out for Staunton River on Tuesday.
Tanya Nelms' short jumper for a tie wouldn't drop at the final horn, leaving Gate City with a 55-53 upset victory in the first round of the Group AA girls' state basketball tournament.
That shot would have helped the Golden Eagles stave off their first home loss. It also would have capped a tremendous comeback as Staunton River (23-3) was down 45-31 going into the final quarter.
Gate City (20-5) redeemed itself after being blown out 67-41 Saturday night by Blacksburg on the Blue Devils' home court in the Region IV championship game. Gate City's reward is a rematch with the defending state champions in the semifinals when the state tournament resumes at the Salem Civic Center on Friday, Dec. 3.
Last week, Staunton River earned a trip to the state when Deena Mitchell's last-second shot capped a furious rally as the Golden Eagles tipped Martinsville in the Region III semifinals.
"I thought it was in. It's been a storybook thing this season. Those kind of shots are supposed to go in. They have so far, anyway," said Staunton River coach Linwood Roberts.
Gate City got the upper hand early, going to 6-foot-1 Kerri Beasley inside while guards Lindsay Carter and Beth Godsey controlled the outside.
The Blue Devils led 43-28 late in the third quarter after Nichole Davidson got a layup. However, Gate City had foul problems. Eventually three starters would foul out and Godsey missed much of the second half before picking up her fifth personal.
"We were due a good game," said Gate City coach Pam Wilson. "We just didn't play our game [against Blacksburg]. It was the intimidating factor of playing in the state tournament [for the first time] plus playing the defending champion.
"We came up here with a mission. We were focused all day to turn things around. We worked on going to the post. We had some good practices and I watched a lot of films [on what Gate City did wrong against Blacksburg]."
Beasley had 19 points, collected 18 rebounds and blocked four shots.
Staunton River's rebounding duo of Kim English and Courtney Hurd combined for 25 rebounds. Hurd had 12 rebounds and 14 points including several key jumpers to help Staunton River's comeback.
Nelms wound up with 19 points, but she never got hot. The senior guard turned the game around with her defense and hit nine points to pace the rally. Twice she had steals after Golden Eagle baskets, but missed easy shots. She had five of her seven steals in the final quarter.
The Golden Eagles had chances before Nelms' final miss. Mitchell hit a carbon copy of her game-winner against Martinsville to make it 49-48 with 2:26 left. Then, after Godsey missed the second of a one-and-one free throw, she hustled for the rebound, got a layup and drew the foul. Godsey hit the free throw this time for a 53-48 lead.
Staunton River wasn't finished. Moments later the Golden Eagles went for a tie, but English missed on a 10-foot jumper. Beasley then hit two free throws with 23 seconds left, but Mitchell came back 10 seconds later with a jumper to make it a two-point game.
The Golden Eagles fouled Davida Wininger, who missed with six seconds left. Staunton River hurried down and Nelms, open on the side, had a shot that just wouldn't fall.
"It's very hard to come back like that. You have to give Gate City all the credit. They came in here with all this crowd and kept their poise," said Roberts.
\ see microfilm for box score
by CNB