Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412210032
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Just say Cave Spring and Pulaski County or reverse those two schools. That's what the girls' basketball race has been all about in the Roanoke Valley District for the last five years.
These schools have taken turns frustrating one another. Except for one year when William Fleming stepped into the middle of these two schools and went to the region, the RVD has been a scrap between the Knights and the Cougars.
It should be even more so this year. Both teams are loaded with veterans, talent and height. Both squads are solid and could make a run for both Northwest Region and Group AAA state honors.
The Knights will go behind twin senior guards Aimee and Allison Beightol along with one of the tallest front lines in the state.
Pulaski County has Jodie Hallett, the RVD Player of the Year last winter, returning with 6-foot-2-inch Kim Cruise and two other starters. The Cougars won the regular season a year ago and the Knights took the tournament.
Is there a team that can compete with these two? Maybe Franklin County, though the Eagles might not have enough to win a title. Franklin County has five players off the volleyball team that lost only in the Northwest Region tournament to Hylton, which eventually won the Group AAA state title.
Cave Spring coach Linda Long says her team should be better than last year when the Knights were beaten by Albemarle in the region semifinals and denied a trip to the Group AAA state tournament. That ended a string of six consecutive trips to the state by Cave Spring.
``We need to stay healthy,'' said Long. ``I'm concerned about our depth. We don't know how some of the younger players will do on the varsity.''
The Beightols are the motors that make Cave Spring go. The front line is huge, topped by 6-foot-4-inch Lisa Bryan, the tallest girl to play Timesland basketball. She started as a freshman.
Cave Spring also has 6-foot transfer Jackie Banks, who was All-Blue Ridge District as a sophomore at William Byrd in the 1993 season. The other front liner is 5-foot-10-inch Cheryl Rhodes, a double-figure scorer for the Knights last year. Together, this trio averaged 30 points and 18 rebounds a game.
Pulaski County has plenty of returning statistics to throw at the Knights. The Cougars have 43 points and 14 rebounds a game coming back from four starters.
Coach Rod Reedy also has four college-bound players including Cruise (committed to Radford) and Carrie McConnell (interested in UNC-Wilmington), who will be Division I signees. Hallett is committed to Division II Elon while 5-foot-8-inch guard Kara Buckner is likely to play Division III.
If McConnell returns to 100 percent healthy, then Pulaski County will be very tough to deal with. McConnell went down with an anterior cruciate ligament injury to her knee as a sophomore.
``She was about 90 percent last year and she's close to 100 percent now,'' said Reedy.
Mary Bishop, a 5-foot-11-inch sophomore, might start on the front line and give the Cougars a front line that will compete with Cave Spring. Hallett is a fine shooter for a big player while Cruise is regarded as one of the sleepers in the state who is rapidly improving with each game.
Long says Franklin County might not win the RVD. ``But,'' warns the Knights' coach, ``they will be much better. We played them at camp and they have a lot of key players back. If they can't win the district, they can be a spoiler and keep either Pulaski County or us from winning it.''
Susan Wilson, the RVD Player of the Year, is joined by Sandy Hudson, Natalie Giles, Penee Clayborne, and Amy Poindexter, who is coming from volleyball to basketball for the Eagles.
``I think the most we were lacking last year was confidence,'' said Franklin County coach Deborah Crockett. ``We were in a lot of games for two, three quarters with Cave Spring and Pulaski County, but we couldn't pull them out.
``Volleyball will help. You can tell the difference in work habits and in everything. We'll have a starting lineup that's pretty even. It wouldn't surprise me to see four or five players in double figures.''
It's not likely that William Fleming can challenge for the title.
``We're at a crossroads. We have some experience and a lot of youth,'' said Fleming coach Roland Lovelace, whose club was in the region two years ago.
``Our season depends on how much support our younger people give the starters,'' said Lovelace.
Patrick Henry has gone through a long, dry spell including a winless season last year. Now, Phil Baldwin, a 51-year-old guidance counselor at the school, takes a turn at trying to rebuild PH. Baldwin says this is no short-term project on his part.
``I want to build a program,'' said Baldwin, who expects to challenge the top teams right away. He says he has gotten fine support from both the administration and boys' coach Woody Deans.
Baldwin has coached a variety of sports as far away as Asia and says he comes from a family that both coaches and participates in sports.
CAVE SPRING
93-94 record: 21-4 overall, 10-2 in the Roanoke Valley District
Coach: Linda Long, third year
Returning starters: Aimee Beightol, 5-3, sr., guard (15.0 ppg., 6.5 assists per game); Cheryl Rhodes, 5-10, jr., forward (11.0 ppg., 6.3 rpg.); Allison Beightol, 5-3, sr., guard (6.0 ppg., 4.1 apg.); and Lisa Bryan, 6-4, soph., center (6.0 ppg., 6.0 rpg.)
Other key players: Jackie Banks, 6-0, jr., forward, (12.8 ppg., 7.6 rpg. at William Byrd in 1993); Emily Rappold, 5-6, sr., guard (4.0 ppg.); Winsor Simmons, 5-9, sr., forward; Kristen Smith, 5-5, soph., guard; and Amy Causey, 5-8, fr., guard.
Outlook:Cave Spring has the experience, height and speed out front to do well in the state. This is a veteran team. Though all of the players on the front line are underclassmen, they all have started at least one year of varsity basketball. Banks make this front line one of the strongest in Group AAA. The Beightols are small, pesky and rated as sleepers to be Division I prospects by one rating service.
FRANKLIN COUNTY
93-94 record:9-11 overall, 4-8 in the Roanoke Valley District
Coach: Deborah Crockett, second year
Returning starters: Sandy Hudson, 5-7, sr., guard (7.4 ppg.); Patty Campbell, 6-1, sr., center (13.4 ppg.); Natalie Giles, 6-0, sr. forward (10.2 ppg.).
Other key players: Susie Wilson, 5-10, sr., guard; Betty Smith, 5-10, sr., forward; Sarah Jones, 5-5, sr., guard; Penee Clayborne, 5-7, jr., guard; and Erin Conley, 5-5, jr., guard.
Outlook:If there is a team that will challenge Pulaski County and Cave Spring, the Eagles seem to have the players. Height might be a problem, but the Eagles have enough points back from last year when they were one of the most improved teams in the RVD.
PATRICK HENRY
93-94 record:0-19 overall, 0-12 in the Roanoke Valley District
Coach:Phil Baldwin, first year
Returning starters: Carrie Moore, 5-5, jr., guard (5.0 ppg.) and Artrice Webb, 5-10, sr., center (5.5 ppg., 8.3 rpg.).
Other key players: Tammy Lester, 5-10, jr., forward-center; Renea Hill, 5-8, jr., guard (3.3 ppg.); Kate Bucher, 5-11, sr., forward; Shannon Harmon, 5-8, soph., guard; Trina Davis, 5-11, jr., forward-center; Gena Kent, 6-0, jr., forward-center.
Outlook:The Patriots get a new coach who plans to establish the program. He's starting from ground zero as the Patriots have little experience and are coming off from a winless season. Still, Baldwin plans for his team to challenge any and all comers this year. He has been talking to PH boys' coach Woody Deans, one of the best at establishing a program.
PULASKI COUNTY
93-94 record:17-7 overall, 10-2 in the Roanoke Valley District
Coach: Rod Reedy, 13th year
Returning starters: Carrie McConnell, 5-6, sr., guard (11.0 ppg., 3.5 apg.); Kara Buckner, 5-8, sr., guard (6.0 ppg., 2.0 apg.); Kim Cruise, 6-2, sr., center (9.0 ppg., 6.5 rpg.); and Jodie Hallett, 5-10, sr., forward (17.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg.).
Other key players: Autumn Alexander, 5-1, jr., guard; Mary Bishop, 5-11, soph., forward-center; Lisa Skeens, 5-6, soph., guard; Robyn Bower, 5-8, soph., forward; and Mandy Sexton, 5-8, soph., forward.
Outlook: Reedy sees this as possibly being his best team. The Cougars have the advantage in the regular season of playing two of the three games with Cave Spring in Dublin. Still, the RVD tournament, which decides the No. 1 seed, is in Salem. That's Cave Spring's advantage. Cruise is one of the most underrated players in the state, Hallett one of the best and McConnell a possible star coming off an injury.
WILLIAM FLEMING
93-94 record:10-8 overall, 6-6 in the Roanoke Valley District
Coach: Roland Lovelace, 12th year
Returning starters: Felecia Manns, 6-1, sr., center (8.3 ppg., 14.6 rpg.) and Kelly Irving, 5-8, sr., forward (4.5 ppg.)
Other key players: Lakeisha Burwell, 6-0, jr., center; Revanda Barber, 5-5, soph., guard; Kiann Trent, 5-7, fr., guard-forward; Carol Ellis, 5-8, jr., forward; and Margaret Page, 5-6, fr., guard.
Outlook: After challenging for the top spot in the RVD the last few years, Fleming faces a rebuilding year under Lovelace. Manns is a tremendous rebounder, but the Colonels have little experience. If Manns and Irving can step up their scoring, Fleming could challenge upper echelon teams by the first of the year.
by CNB