ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020069
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
AMBER KERN picks up the slack and scores 18 points in a 50-38 win at William Byrd.
Whatever it was that Marilyn Bussey told her team during halftime worked.
The Northside High School girls' basketball coach saw her team trail William Byrd by five points. But after giving an intermission speech, Bussey's Vikings went on a 16-2 run and defeated the Terriers 50-38 in Vinton on Tuesday night.
With the win, Northside (10-1 overall, 5-0 district) has sole possession of first place in the Blue Ridge District. Meanwhile, William Byrd (9-2, 5-1) falls to second.
``I told [my team] that we were going to have to make some big adjustments in the second half,'' said Bussey, of her halftime speech. ``I said that Byrd was doubling up on defense and playing very aggressive and we weren't. I said that we were still okay. We just needed to be more aggressive.''
The Vikings took her message to heart, grabbing eight offensive rebounds and limiting the Terriers to only two shots in the third quarter.
William Byrd looked helpless as Northside ran circles around it.
``I don't know what happened to us in the second half,'' Terrier coach Richard Thrasher said after losing to the Vikings for the second time this season. ``Suddenly, we didn't do a good job of playing defense. You have to give Northside credit - they played great. Right now we are not as consistent as we want to be.
"We can play better and we will.''
But Northside displayed great teamwork Tuesday.
With Crystal Barrett drawing a double-team, the guards hit five wide-open 3-pointers. Amber Kern was unstoppable, scoring a game-high 18-points. And despite being held to seven points, Barrett grabbed 14 rebounds, had four steals and two blocks.
Six-foot-2 center Stephanie Parnell led William Byrd with 14 points. Teammate Brandy Allen added 10.
``When they kept double-teaming me, I didn't get frustrated,'' said Barrett. ``I just made myself play better on defense. I just wanted to work harder and keep [Byrd] off the boards. I still wanted to be able to help.''
Early on, the 6-footer did the opposite. She was hurting herself by forcing bad shots. As a result, the Terriers opened up a 20-15 lead after Allen's layup with 5:32 left in the half.
Three minutes later, the Vikings' Kristina McMillian's 3-pointer closed the gap 24-21.
Northside went to work in the second half, holding William Byrd scoreless for four minutes of the third quarter. Parnell, who scored six of her team's 12 second-half points, was the only Terrier to attempt a basket during that stretch.
``We were real focused on what we wanted to [do],'' said Bussey. ``This is just a real special group of kids that we have on this team.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB