Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040127
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: M.J. DOUGHERTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HILLSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
But after Blacksburg downed Carroll County 52-39 on Thursday night, it brought chaos to the district, not order.
The victory by the Indians created a three-way tie for the top spot in the three-team district. Blacksburg (9-12 overall), Carroll County (14-7) and Christiansburg (11-9) all finished league play at 2-2.
The district principals are expected to decide on a format for a playoff and/or next week's district tournament today.
What made all this necessary was the way the Indians started Thursday's game. Bethany Johnston had two layups in the first minute. Maggie Kohler added a short jumper. And Lisa Price sank a 3-pointer from the left wing.
``It's always a plan for us to see if we can work it inside,'' said Johnston, a 5-foot-9 junior. ``And Mickey [McGuigan, Blacksburg's coach], just told us to go out there and relax.''
Another basket by Kohler made it 11-0 and the struggling Cavaliers took a timeout with 21/2 minutes left in the period. To that point, they had missed their first eight field-goal attempts and turned over the ball three times. Finally, Jennifer Watkins hit a jumper, making it 11-2.
``You saw our lack of experience right there,'' said Howard Mayo, Carroll County's coach. ``In the first quarter, Price and [April] Rogers took over - Price with the 3-pointers and Rogers with the defense - and they are the two [starters] back from the state championship team.``
Watkins hit another jumper that cut the Cavaliers' deficit to seven points with 11/2 minutes left in the quarter. But that would be as close as they got, as Price nailed another 3-pointer late in the period.
``At the end of practice yesterday, Mickey talked to us about tradition,'' said Price, who finished with a game-high 16 points. ``After that, April and I decided to have fun. We hadn't had fun all year. I guess that's what we did out there tonight.''
The second quarter was more of the same as Blacksburg expanded its lead to 31-17. Price scored five points on a pair of jumpers, and Andrea Feret added six on the inside.
``We had teamwork tonight,'' said Feret, a 5-10 sophomore. ``We knew we could do it. It was just a matter of getting something going.''
Blacksburg erased any doubt about the outcome when it outscored the Cavaliers 9-0 in the first five minutes of the second half to take a 40-17 advantage. Price had five points in the surge.
``For me, it was more important the way we started the second half,'' McGuigan said. ``We've started games like we did tonight. But we haven't kept it going in the second half and played like we did in the third quarter.''
The Cavaliers slowly whittled their deficit after that, closing to within 48-39 with 33 seconds to go.
Marie Martin led Carroll County with 12 points.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB