Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 26, 1995 TAG: 9501260135
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DWIGHT FOXX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DUBLIN LENGTH: Medium
Allison Beightol drilled a 15-foot jump shot from the right wing with 3 seconds remaining as Cave Spring nipped Pulaski County 35-33 Wednesday night on the Cougars' court.
The teams are tied for first place in the district with 6-1 marks. Pulaski County won the earlier matchup, 53-45, at Cave Spring on Jan. 7.
Allison Beightol came off a screen and received a pass from her sister, Aimee, in scoring the game's winning points. Allison said the shot was the second-biggest in her basketball career next to a shot she made against William Fleming in the district championship game as a sophomore.
``Aimee passed me the ball and I saw that the clock had five seconds on it and I said, ``Somebody's got to take this shot,'' Allison said. "As soon as it left my hand, I felt like it was going in."
After back-to-back timeouts, Pulaski County shooting guard Lisa Skeens missed a potential winning heave from halfcourt.
``That last three seconds took longer than the trip down here,'' Cave Spring coach Linda Long said.
Aimee Beightol said her sister's winning shot was from the same spot on the floor as the shot against Fleming two years ago.
``It was like deja vu,'' Aimee Beightol said. ``Allison stepped up big on that one.''
At the 1:37 mark and the Knights trailing 33-31, the Beightol roles were reversed. Aimee made a sensational steal going out of bounds and threw the ball to Allison, who threw it back to her sister for a tying layup.
``We only had two team fouls so we could take some gambles in the passing lanes,'' Aimee Beightol said. ``I got my hand on the ball and threw it to her and she got it back to me.''
Earlier in the quarter, Allison drilled a 3-pointer that stopped a 12-0 Pulaski County run and cut its lead to 33-31. Pulaski County (13-2 overall, 6-1 district) scored only two points in the final period and was scoreless in the final six minutes.
Both teams shot 28 percent from the field. The Beightol sisters combined for 20 points, including 14 of their team's 16 second-half points.
Long said both teams set offensive basketball back ``about 200 years'' but she would take the win.
``We did two things this time we didn't do last time,'' the Knights coach said. ``One, we outrebounded them [33-31] and we didn't let [Jodie] Hallett and [Kim] Cruise dominate this time.''
Hallett led Pulaski County with 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Cruise was held to six points on 3-of-12 shooting. She did have 10 rebounds and five blocks.
Cave Spring's (11-3, 6-1) inside trio of Jaclyn Banks, Cheryl Rhodes and Lisa Bryan contained the Cougars' duo. Bryan grabbed nine rebounds, and Banks and Rhodes had seven apiece.
``We did a great job of double-teaming them down low,'' Long said.
The teams will have their grudge match on Feb. 4 at Pulaski County. The game will go a long way in determining who wraps up a Northwest Region playoff berth.
``Next Friday night, it'll be another big matchup,'' Cougars coach Rod Reedy said. ``You just throw it up for grabs now. The one that wants it the most will probably come out the victor.''
by CNB