Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 11, 1994 TAG: 9411110078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
With its streak of Region III tournament appearances under Richard Thrasher in jeopardy, William Byrd got hot at the right time Thursday night.
The region's biggest fixture in girls' basketball is alive, thanks to a strong third quarter that helped the Terriers down Lord Botetourt 52-41 in a Blue Ridge District tournament semifinal at Northside.
The victory, coupled with an earlier triumph by Salem over Northside, gave Byrd its 11th Region III appearance under Thrasher, who has never had a team fail to make it past the district tournament. The Terriers will meet the Seminole District runner-up Tuesday in a first-round game at Magna Vista High School in Ridgeway.
Coming into the game, Byrd wasn't sure it would make the regional tournament. The Terriers had finished third in the district and lost to Botetourt and Salem in the past month. Down 23-22 at the half, Byrd (16-6) seemed to be in trouble.
However, Cathy Smith hit a layup to start the quarter and sparked the Terriers as they outscored Botetourt 18-4 to take control in the third quarter.
``At the half, we were so excited,'' said Smith, who led both teams with 17 points and had a great all-around game with four assists, two steals and two blocked shots. ``We had been that way the whole first half. We had waited for this game for the longest time.
``I'm sure some people had their doubts about us, people in the stands. But our team didn't. We just said we needed to pick it up. In the third quarter, we shot much better. We ran the ball around [their zone]. We didn't try to force it inside.''
The Terriers hit seven of 16 field-goal attempts in the period. Meanwhile, the defense snuffed out the Cavaliers (15-6), limiting Botetourt to 2-of-10 shooting.
There were two other factors in this game, though. Botetourt's sophomore guard, Sara Moore, picked up three personal fouls in the first half. She didn't play the final 7 minutes, 16 seconds when the Cavaliers might have taken more than just a one-point lead.
The other factor was free-throw shooting - Lord Botetourt made only nine of 23.
``I thought missing the free throws was the biggest factor,'' said David Wheat, the Cavaliers' coach. ``It took something out of us. Our starters average hitting 67 percent from the line. It just saps you when you miss and you start thinking things aren't going right for you.''
On that point, Botetourt was correct. Byrd reserve Valerie Glyn pumped in seven points in the third quarter, including one of her three 3-point goals. Her final 3-pointer came in the final quarter as Byrd's lead zoomed to 45-31 with 6:14 left.
But Botetourt wouldn't die. The Cavaliers' press took a toll on the Terriers. Moore hit a free throw at the peak of the rally to cut the margin to 44-36 and then Botetourt forced a turnover. Summer Plunkett, however, missed a 3-point shot and the Terriers' Kristi Dyer, who had three field goals in the final eight minutes, hit a layup on a fast break to blunt the rally.
``At the half, we just talked about getting the ball to Dyer. They were running a box-and-one [defense] on Cathy and I didn't think they could stop Kristi inside,'' Thrasher said. ``Valerie Glyn didn't shoot the ball well the first half, but she made key shots in the second half.''
In the second half, Byrd made 11 of 20 from the field and wound up 20-of-44 for the game. The Terriers also turned over the ball 11 times in the final quarter. The defense, though, was there as Byrd held Botetourt's high-scoring sophomores - Moore and Sara Hicks - to 24 points. Those two were a combined 9-of-30 from the field.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB