Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 16, 1994 TAG: 9411170047
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RIDGEWAY LENGTH: Medium
Or so Fieldale-Collinsville learned Tuesday night in the opening round of the Group AA Region III tournament at Magna Vista High School.
Left open for perimeter shots for most of the night, freshman Sarah Palmer and junior Shellie Johnson fired at will, combining for 47 points as the Spartans bombed the Cavaliers 67-49.
The game wasn't that close. With reserves playing most of the fourth quarter, the Spartans scored only six points. They didn't need any more to advance to Thursday night's semifinal matchup with Seminole District champion Jefferson Forest at Magna Vista. Jefferson Forest drew a first-round bye.
``Shooting-wise, I'd say that was our best game of the year,'' said Dee Wright, Salem's coach.
That should come as no surprise to Wright's counterpart, Marcia Mincer, who had a team in regional play for the first time since the Cavaliers moved up to Group AA.
``How many did they miss?'' she asked rhetorically.
The answer was not many that were important. Fieldale-Collinsville (16-7) stayed in a 2-3 zone, which delighted Salem's sharpshooters.
``The middle was usually open and when they'd collapse in, I'd just pass it outside and the jumper was open,'' Palmer said.
As often as not, Palmer found herself on the receiving end of an inside-out pass. In those cases, she showed no signs of freshman indecision. Of her 23 points, 15 came on 3-point shots.
``Most teams come out on me,'' Palmer said. ``But they stayed in and Miss Wright told me to shoot.''
What Wright wanted, she got, if not from Palmer, then from Johnson. It was Johnson who nailed 12-footers from either wing with impunity while scoring 24 points.
By the time F-C switched to a man-to-man defense, it had trailed by as many as 21 points.
``We were concerned about playing man-to-man, but they adjusted to that, too,'' Mincer said. ``Playing man is not something that we do a lot of. In fact, I think we've done it three, maybe four times this year.''
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, could not exploit a considerable size advantage with 6-foot-3 T.J. Hayes inside. Salem assistant coach Jill Hilton, who is 6-4, played for the scout team in practice this week and the Spartans seemed to be more than prepared to play looking up.
Furthermore, Hayes battled the twin banes of fatigue and foul trouble.
``We were hoping if we ran her, then she'd get tired and have to come out,'' Wright said.
The pace certainly seemed to wear on the Cavaliers' leader, Cicely Becker, who was held to 12 points - six off her average. Kia Isaac added 14.
by CNB