Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 19, 1994 TAG: 9410190071
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Lady Terriers scored the first 12 points of the game and blasted Northside 71-39 in a Blue Ridge District girls' basketball game.
William Byrd (10-4, 4-1) led 16-2 after five minutes by shooting 8-for-15 and forcing Northside into seven of its 30 turnovers. During that stretch, the Terriers' inside trio of Cathy Smith, Brandy Allen and Kristi Dyer performed a clinic on how to pass on a high post-low post situation on offense and how to double-down in the paint on defense.
``I think we can, really, play even better than we did during the first five minutes,'' Dyer said. ``We really came together as a team [after the loss to Salem]. Even though we played great, that's not the best we can play.''
Don't tell that to Northside coach Marilyn Bussey. Her team had a hard time with the tall, talented Terriers in every facet of the game and trailed 21-4 after one period. The Vikings had only six shot opportunities and turned the ball over 11 times in the first quarter.
``I think Salem made them mad, and we got the wrath of it,'' Bussey said. ``Cathy [Smith] had a really good first half, and Kristi [Dyer] scored their first 10 points in the second half.
``They score a lot of their points inside. We wanted to double-down on them, but they still found the open spots. They pass the ball so well.''
Brandy Allen scored eight of her 10 points in the opening period and came up with four first-quarter steals.
``I wasn't necessarily looking to score,'' Allen said. ``I was just trying to play team basketball.''
Byrd forced Northside (4-9, 1-4) into 18 turnovers, including 12 steals, and outrebounded the Vikings 15-9 in the first half. It had 12 second-chance points and 10 offensive rebounds by halftime.
The Terriers repeated their first-period performance in the third quarter. Dyer went on a personal 10-0 run to open the period, and the Terriers shot a sizzling 61.1 (11-of-18) percent in the period. They hit nine of their first 10 shots to open a 32-point lead, 55-23, with 3:03 remaining. Byrd coach Richard Thrasher then began to substitute freely.
``Yeah, we did really well,'' Thrasher said. ``We didn't play well last Thursday night against Salem. We talked about playing good defense and playing together on offense. We did a much better job playing as a team.''
Dyer, Smith and Allen combined for 39 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and six assists.
By game's end, the Terriers were already thinking about Thursday night's showdown at Lord Botetourt. They will have to defeat Botetourt and Salem on the road during the second half of the district schedule to have any hopes of winning the Blue Ridge regular-season crown.
``We're really looking forward to it,'' Dyer said. ``We want to show Botetourt what we've got.''
by CNB