ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512150014
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: E-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN A. MONTGOMERY STAFF WRITER
When basketball guards Aimee and Alison Beightol graduated from Cave Spring High School last spring, they took with them a combined average of 23 points per game from a team that went 21-5.
But, perhaps surprisingly, things are looking up for the Knights this season.
Since last year's team lost in the state quarterfinals to Robinson High School in Fairfax, the eventual Group AAA state champion, that's a tall order.
Cave Spring coach Linda Long adjusted with the times and shifted her team's scoring offense to the inside, to one of the tallest front lines in girls' basketball in this area.
Center Lisa Bryan, a junior, and senior forwards Jaclyn Banks and Cheryl Rhodes stand 6 feet 4 inches, 6-0, and 5-11, respectively.
"I would say they give us one of the tallest teams in Timesland," Long said. "In the past, we've been a real guard-oriented team. Now, we're a post-oriented team.''
Prior to this week, the Knights had played just one game, a 61-56 victory over George Washington-Danville on Dec. 2.
Long, who is 5-9, played basketball at Glenvar High School and Radford University before starting her coaching career in the late 1970s as an assistant coach to David Layman at Salem High School.
"I remember first coming to Cave Spring [three seasons ago, again as Layman's assistant] and saying, 'Wouldn't it be nice to have girls to look up to?' Now I'm one on the shortest persons on the court," Long said.
Considering that the Knights' bench includes Alyssa Redick, Catie Redick and Kelly Griffin, all of whom are 6 feet or taller, Long's assertion is not much of an exaggeration.
Bryan and Rhodes have started for the Knights since they were freshmen, and Banks, sister of Virginia Tech's Sherry Banks, transferred from William Byrd prior to last season.
"[With Banks' arrival from Vinton], we have good size at the three spot," Long said. "We never had that until last season."
Long has devised a "triple-post" offense, allowing guards Stacy Morioka and Kristen Smith, and Amy Causey three places to work the ball.
"We haven't put in our post plays yet this year," Bryan said. "Basically, we're just running cut-and-pick plays."
Still, Bryan, Rhodes and Banks are difficult to defend under the basket, and they can hit the occasional outside shot as well.
"If we have an open shot, coach gives us the green light," Bryan said.
"I've gotten a lot better at posting up," said Bryan, whose grandfather was an All-American at the University of South Dakota in 1935. "That's been one of my goals.''
Bryan admits that foul trouble has been her Achilles heel. "That happens a lot. I don't know if it's because I'm really fouling, or if it's because I'm tall."
"I don't think refs [as a whole] believe that girls can actually block shots," Rhodes said.
Rhodes considers "court vision" one of her strongest assets. "I like to hit players [with passes as they are] cutting to the basket," she said. Rhodes scored 14 points in the opening game.
Banks offers opponents a number of problems to consider. "I've got a lot of different moves."
"I have a jump hook, a running hook, a drop-step move, and a turnaround jump shot. And, for a big person, I think I run the floor pretty well," Banks said.
While Bryan, Banks and Rhodes can score effectively and present an intimidating interior defense, Long realizes that some adjustments must be made to compensate for the disadvantages a tall team presents.
"The Beightols were very quick," Long said, "and had tremendous anticipation. We did a lot of trapping on defense. This year, we'll probably fall back into a half-court defense most of the time. But we'll be all right."
Long received an unexpected blow last Friday when she learned that Banks had contracted mononucleosis and will miss four games. "I knew something wasn't right," Long said. "Jackie'd been real lethargic all week. But better now than in February.
"Our goal is to be the [Roanoke Valley] district and [Northwest] region champions and to get to the final four in Lynchburg," said Long.
"The more games we play, the better we're going to be.''
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB