Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 3, 1993 TAG: 9312030255
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When they last saw each other, Gate City players were being dazzled by a spectacular display of scoring on the part of defending Group AA girls' state basketball champion Blacksburg.
The Indians ripped Gate City 67-41 in the Region IV championship game. What made the score so startling was that it came on Gate City's home floor.
Now the two are matched up again in tonight's Group AA state semifinal contest at 8:30 at the Salem Civic Center. That game, which promises to be much tighter than the one held less than two weeks ago, closes a big day of state tournament action.
The Group A state tournament semifinals are scheduled this afternoon with Buffalo Gap playing Madison County at 2 followed by Floyd County against Thomas Walker at 3:30. Tonight, the Group AA state tournament semifinals start with Charlottesville going against Loudoun Valley at 7.
"I thought Lisa Price played a dominating game since they [Gate City] started off in a box-and-one defense against me," said Blacksburg playmaker Mary Thorn.
Price scored a career-high 30 points in leading the Indians' charge.
Gate City's defense was understandable.
"I feel Mary Thorn is the best guard I've seen in a long time. She's the key to the offense and the defense. You have to contain her and not let her do what she wants to do," said Gate City coach Pam Wilson.
The Blue Devils think this game will be different from the first and certainly their 55-53 upset victory at Staunton River in the first round of the state tournament gives an indication that this team isn't about to give up.
"We've talked about revenge. We've watched the tape a lot. We saw where our mistakes were that we made them look so good. We had 32 turnovers and we haven't had half that all year," said Wilson.
"I just tried to play up tempo [that night]," said Thorn. "If the tempo is up, I have a better game. You always have the feeling they'll mastermind some kind of defense to stop all your players.
"We look at it like the Carroll County situation. We lost to Carroll County after we had beaten them by 34 points. Now we have a wake-up call and we can't look past any team."
Blacksburg coach Mickey McGuigan says he'll do nothing special for Gate City. "We really don't make any specific adjustments for specific teams. We work on things we try to do and get to the point where we execute them well on the floor.
"I don't think Gate City is a poor team. They didn't play well and we know they didn't play as well as they can. So we'll be ready."
Floyd County must guard against being over confident. It's been so long since a team has been close with the Buffaloes in the second half, Floyd County players may have forgotten what it's like to have to play in the clutch.
The Buffaloes have won 27 games by an average of 43.1 points. For the season, they're outscoring their opponents by 1,161 points. The only victories by fewer than 20 points came against Group AA Lord Botetourt (71-57) and Shawsville (60-43).
Now Floyd County tries to play on a bigger floor at the Salem Civic Center. That might help teams overcome the press that has been a factor in producing Buffalo romps.
"I'm hoping we'll still be able to hustle and use our speed to our advantage," said Floyd County coach Alan Cantrell. "I think the [bigger floor] gives people more area to have to cover us."
There is a force driving Floyd County to get two more victories. That was the loss to Wilson Memorial in last year's Group A semifinals.
"All year we've said that we've had a little bit of unfinished business to take care of. We're hoping to take care of it and give these seniors something to be proud of. They've played hard, but everyone is tough in the final four. They've all won over 20 games, so you can't say anyone's a rookie team or inexperienced," said Cantrell.
One other factor figures in Floyd County's favor and that's the crowd. Anytime the Buffaloes have played in the state tournament, they have traditionally brought more than 1,000 people to follow the team.
by CNB