Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411210023
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RIDGEWAY LENGTH: Medium
The 5-foot-8 forward came up with two steals at a critical time in the fourth quarter to stop a Martinsville rally and propel the Terriers past the Bulldogs 55-49 in the Region III semifinals.
First, Smith picked off a pass and drove for a layup with 2:21 left after Martinsville had scored six straight points to trim Byrd's lead to three. Then she quickly got another steal, drew a foul and hit one free throw to lift the Terriers (18-7) out of danger with a 51-45 lead.
Byrd's victory makes it a Blue Ridge District affair in the championship game Saturday at Northside. The Terriers will catch their biggest nemesis this year, Salem, which has beaten them three times.
Both teams are in next week's Group AA state tournament. The winner of the Region III title will play a first-round home game against either Grundy or Marion while the loser will go on the road to one of those schools.
Smith tried to downplay the importance of the steals. It was part of a 23-point and 15-rebound evening for the 5-foot-8 forward.
``I played like I regularly do. I anticipated,'' said Smith, who came up with four steals on the night.
``I wanted to pick it up, but anyone could have stepped in and done it. If it wasn't me, it would still be fine.''
Byrd also got a big game from another junior, Kelli Runyon, who had seven assists and hit 6-of-7 free throws in the fourth quarter. Her final free throws added to Smith's defensive work as they gave the Terriers a commanding 53-45 margin.
For Runyon and Smith, this is deja vu. Two years ago as freshman starters, they played on a team that went to the state finals against Blacksburg.
It's the second year the Bulldogs (20-4) have lost in in the Region III semifinals. It also wound up a tremendous career for point guard and Timesland assist leader Sam Ferguson, who is headed to North Carolina-Greensboro on a scholarship.
The Bulldogs never could escape Byrd. Even when Martinsville took a 35-27 lead midway through the third quarter, the Terriers didn't appear beaten.
Byrd's comeback from that deficit was fueled by two free throws from Kim Kendrick and a jumper by reserve Valerie Glynn. Smith and Runyon added field goals and at the close of the quarter, junior Kristi Dyer, who also played on Byrd's state runnerup team two years ago, hit two free throws that put the Terriers ahead for good at 38-37.
Byrd's defense was tough after that. Only 14 Terriers turnovers in the final quarter enabled Martinsville to keep it close.
``We wanted to step out and keep Ferguson from penetrating,'' Byrd coach Richard Thrasher said. ``If they did penetrate, we wanted to put our hands up.''
Ferguson didn't have a particularly good night. She hit a pair of 3-point goals in the opening quarter, but never scored from the field again.
Martinsville's Tresita Holland scored a game-high 24 points. The junior had all of her team's eight points in the second quarter and frequently got inside. It was Holland who paced the comeback until Smith's steals.
``We knew everytime Tresita got the ball, she'd penetrate. She's good at that so we had to slow her down,'' Smith said.
``We didn't take care of the ball,'' Martinsville coach Carla Giles said. ``Byrd stayed in a zone inside and came out to pressure the ball. We didn't rebound at all and we got inside a couple of times, but couldn't hit. Still, Byrd is a very good team.''
The Terriers connected on 20-of-42 shots from the floor and were willing to run with the Bulldogs. Martinsville, on the other hand, wanted to go to a delay game that worked effectively against Fieldale-Collinsville in the Piedmont District title game last week. The Bulldogs went to a delay twice at the ends of quarters.
``We did go to a press once,'' Thrasher said. ``I don't know how well it worked except that it speeded up the game. Then we had a lot of turnovers. We just didn't get together on our pressure offense.''
Martinsville hit only 19-of-67 shots from the floor. Byrd connected on 15-of-21 free throws. Inside, Byrd dominated the boards 44-35 with freshman Brandi Allen getting 11 rebounds.
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB