ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020068
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FLOYD
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
MEMO: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.
FLOYD COUNTY beats the Highlanders 64-40 in their first Three Rivers District game.
The action moved at a brisk pace, bodies colliding with a push here and a shove there with no early clue as to who might prevail.
And that was just the competition to reach the tiny concession stand in the tightly-packed corridors at Floyd County High Tuesday.
The casualty count from the halftime stampede for the concessionaires' soda pop, suckers, and chocolate bars was low. Not so for the confidence level of the Glenvar High basketball team. The Highlanders were looking for lots of answers after being decked 64-40 by prevailing Three Rivers District power Floyd County in the league opener for both teams.
The Buffaloes (10-1 overall, 1-0 in the district) led by as many as 27 points in the second half before settling for the final margin. Glenvar, playing in its first Three Rivers game after joining the league, found out it still has some catching up to do.
``We'll be fine,'' Glenvar coach Dennis Layman said. ``The thing we're going to have to do is find a way to turn Floyd County's aggressiveness against them. We have not yet found a way to do that.''
In other words. it certainly would be nice to beat the Buffaloes' press every now and then.
That didn't happen much Tuesday, which is one reason why the Buffaloes were allowed to improve to 10-1 overall, 1-0 in the district.
``We wanted to get some points and easy baskets out of our defense and we think we did that,'' Buffaloes coach Alan Cantrell said.
The Buffs showed the balance that characterizes them in most of their successful outings. Julie Sowers, a junior wing player who played for the varsity as a freshman, did a lot of her team's damage from the outside by canning three of the Buffs' five 3-pointers.
``I've been working on that since this summer,''Sowers said of her shooting. ``Coach said he wanted me taking that shot more often, so I did.''
Cantrell will soon be giving the same orders to senior guard Sonya Hylton, who scored 12 points and was a deadeye marksman when left open.
``She really upped her game,'' Cantrell said. ``She played with as much intensity as I've seen.''
Sara Conner came through with 11 points and Jill Quesenberry added 10 more for the winners.
The Buffaloes led 38-21 at the break end then effectively put the game on ice by running off the first six points of the second half. Each of the three buckets was set up by a Highlanders turnover.
Sowers started a seven-point flurry to close the third with a 3-point bomb with 1:42 left. Lisa Smith's layup off a nice feed inside with 31.2 seconds left in the quarter gave the Buffs a 56-29 lead.
The Buffs were able to work on their stall in the fourth.
Erika Hale scored 17 points and Amy Layman added 10 for the Highlanders (7-4, 0-1).
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: NHAT MEYER/Staff Floyd County's Jill Quesenberry (top)by CNBbattles Glenvar's Amy Layman for a loose ball Tuesday night in a
Three Rivers District game.