Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 2, 1994                   TAG: 9411020088
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SALEM DRIVES CLOSER TO TITLE

So that's exactly what the 1993 Timesland Sizzlin' Sophomore of the Year did. Her layup with 53 seconds left put the Spartans ahead for keeps, and they edged William Byrd 60-57 on Tuesday night to clinch at least a tie for the Blue Ridge District regular-season title in girls' basketball.

Johnson went coast to coast for the layup that made it 58-57. She also drew a foul, but missed the free throw. Still, Byrd never got the ball again until the last few seconds.

First, Johnson rebounded her missed free throw and the Spartans' Tina Slate drew an intentional foul. Slate hit one shot, but the ball went back to Salem on the intentional foul. Again Slate was fouled and hit one free throw. This time, Marilyn Huang rebounded the miss for the Spartans.

A meaningless steal by Byrd's Kelli Runyon with five seconds left resulted in a missed layup.

Salem (14-5 overall, 8-1 in the district) only has to win at Alleghany on Thursday to clinch the title and a trip to the Region III tournament. Byrd (13-6, 6-3) was eliminated with Tuesday's loss, but 1993 champion Lord Botetourt still has a chance to tie for the crown.

``Shellie went by me and I said to take it,'' Wright said of Johnson's winning play.

``I heard her,'' Johnson said of her drive that ended a seesaw game. ``The lane was wide-open and it was a one-on-one situation. I figured I'd get fouled and make a three-point play, but then I missed the free throw.''

The game was tense and featured 12 lead changes. No team could move more than five points ahead and take control.

Salem used a zone that was packed in to make William Byrd shoot from the outside. The Terriers responded by making five of 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc to surprise the Spartans.

``We've encouraged our kids to take 3-point shots,'' said Richard Thrasher, Byrd's coach. ``We need to take more, even though our first goal is to get the ball inside. But a lot of teams pack it in and dare us to take that shot.''

Thrasher moved leading scorer Cathy Smith to the perimeter, and she hit a pair of 3-point goals, as did Valerie Glynn, who led Byrd with 17 points. It was only the second time Glynn has scored in double figures.

``We told the girls, `If they're going to beat us, make it with the outside game,''' Wright said. ``Then we had go to go [with man-to]-man defense.''

Salem won the game with its offense. The Spartans' super freshman, Sarah Palmer, had perhaps her finest game, with 20 points and 17 rebounds. The 5-foot-9 center also hit three 3-point goals.

``It's something we've stressed, that we've won a lot of games with our defense and now we wanted to win with our offense,'' Wright said.