Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 25, 1994 TAG: 9402250244
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BRIAN DeVIDO STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
The Cave Spring girls' basketball team earned a spot in the Roanoke Valley District tournament final and a Northwestern Region berth with a 52-31 win over William Fleming Thursday night.
The Knights' opponent? None other than Pulaski County, the team that beat them by one point Tuesday for the regular-season district title and has won three of the four meetings between the schools this season. The Cougars earned a berth in the regional tournament with their last win over the Knights.
"Our fifth game," Cave Spring coach Linda Long said of the continuing battle between the schools. "The way those games have been going, we've got nothing to lose. Both teams are going to the regionals now. It's a pride game."
The Knights (19-3) advanced to Saturday's 5:30 p.m. championship game at the Salem Civic Center by stuffing the Colonels' inside game. Cave Spring packed the middle from the start, and William Fleming (10-9) had trouble finding the basket.
Plenty of trouble. Fleming didn't have a point until 17 seconds into the second quarter when Colonels forward Ashaki Johnson scored in the paint. The teams played on even terms until the end of the half, with Cave Spring leading 20-10.
After trailing by 15 points in the third quarter, Fleming cut the deficit to 33-23 with six minutes remaining in the game when Johnson, who led the Colonels with 15 points, scored inside again.
The Knights then converted three consecutive three-point plays to go on a 9-0 run in the next 1:25 to lead 42-23. Aimee Beightol, Leah Daigle and Cheryl Rhodes scored inside baskets, were fouled and converted the free throws to put away the game.
"We picked up on them a little slow and they hit 'em," Fleming head coach Roland Lovelace said.
Beightol led the Knights with 16 points, Daigle had 15 and Rhodes had nine.
Cave Spring connected on 22 of 45 field-goal attempts, and Fleming, which was 0-for-9 in the first quarter and 4-of-17 in the fourth, was 14-of-46 for the game.
Now comes the fifth battle between the Knights and Pulaski County.
"I've been in the situation before as a freshman, where we played Pulaski four or five times," Beightol said. "Basically, we'll have the same game plan. The fifth time around, you can't change too much."
by CNB