Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110076
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Spartans advanced to the championship game of the Blue Ridge District girls' basketball tournament by dominating Northside on the boards in a 54-28 victory on the Vikings' court.
Salem, the Blue Ridge regular-season champion, will play William Byrd (15-6) at 4 p.m. Saturday for the tournament championship. The Spartans (16-5) will open the Region III tournament at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against the Piedmont District's No.2 team, Fieldale-Collinsville, at Magna Vista High School in Ridgeway.
Salem outrebounded Northside 43-20, including 13-3 in the first period and 22-12 in the first half in taking a nine-point lead.
But it wasn't until the third quarter that the Spartans were able to break open the game, thanks to Shellie Johnson. The junior forward scored nine of her game-high 23 points in the period on an assortment of medium-range jumpers and personally went on a 6-0 run to help her team take a 41-20 lead into the fourth period.
``Her jump shot looked pretty pure to me,'' said coach Marilyn Bussey, whose Vikings finished the season with a 7-13 record. Bussey said her team focused on stopping Johnson in the period, but it didn't work as she used screens and footwork to get open.
Johnson scored all nine of her third-quarter points during a 15-1 Salem run that ended the game for all intents and purposes. The Spartans shot 57.1 percent (8-for-14) in the period.
Johnson was 9-for-20 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free-throw line and teamed with freshman center Sarah Palmer, who had 11 rebounds and three blocks, to help Salem control the boards. The twosome had one more rebound (21) than the entire Northside team (20).
``It [rebounding] has been an emphasis the second half of the season,'' said Dee Wright, the Spartans' coach.
Palmer, who scored five points, grabbed all her rebounds in the first half - including seven in the opening period.
``Sarah has improved as much as anyone on our team,'' Wright said.
Both coaches thought Northside played excellent defense in the first half, but its offensive woes resurfaced in the second half as evidenced by 4-for-24 field-goal shooting.
``Salem played some good man-to-man defense, too,'' Bussey said.
Wright added: ``They played hard in the first half and we didn't execute [offensively]. We executed better in the second half, and that allowed Shellie to do it [penetrate and hit jump shots].''
As the regular-season champions, the Spartans had locked up a regional berth as the Blue Ridge's No.1 seed and didn't have to play an all-or-nothing game as William Byrd and Lord Botetourt did Thursday night. But they still want to sweep the district's regular-season and tournament titles.
``If you won the regular season, wouldn't you want to win the tournament, too?'' Wright said. ``It's just a little bit about pride.''
see microfilm for box score
by CNB