ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996               TAG: 9610250101
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: B-4  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER


BYRD AVOIDS NORTHSIDE'S BROOM

THE BEWITCHING VIKINGS were brewing up a season sweep, but William Byrd refused and rode off with a sweet pre-Halloween victory.

As Halloween approaches, the Northside girls' basketball team learned paybacks can be tricky and they definitely aren't a treat.

After defeating William Byrd 50-38 on Oct.1, the Vikings were riding high. That victory not only made them 2-0 against the Terriers this season, it put them in a first-place tie with Lord Botetourt in the Blue Ridge District.

Not anymore.

Byrd avenged the early-season defeats with a 54-42 victory Thursday night in Northside's gym. Both teams now are tied for second in the district.

``We needed to win this game,'' said Richard Thrasher, the Terriers' coach. ``We could not afford to lose to Northside three times in a row.

``We are better than we were the first time we played them. We are starting to grow as a team and not make as many mistakes.''

If one person played mistake-free basketball, it was Byrd's Brandy Allen. The 6-foot forward recorded a team-high 18 points and was an imposing force on defense.

``This was [Brandy's] best overall game of the year,'' Thrasher said. ``I don't know what her stats are like, but she did it all, from scoring to steals and defensive rebounds.''

Unlike the last meeting, Byrd (15-3 overall, 10-2 district) got production from its freshman backcourt. Point guard Dawn Chewning scored 10 points and shooting guard Andrea Gay added eight.

Meanwhile, Crystal Barrett was Northside's only offensive threat. The 6-foot junior had a game-high 21 points, 11 rebounds and two steals. But her teammates shot 39 percent from the field.

``I don't know what happened to us out there,'' said guard Amber Kern, who was held to six points.

Northside coach Marilyn Bussey had an answer.

``We just never got into much of a rhythm. It just wasn't our night. But we played hard and never gave up. But it was just Byrd's night.''

The game was close for a while.

Northside opened with a 9-5 run, knotting the score at 11 to end the first quarter. Byrd jumped out to a 24-20 second-quarter lead. But Barrett's layup right before the half closed the gap 24-23.

That's when the bottom fell out for the Vikings (15-3, 10-2), who shot 7-of-27 in the second half.

``I thought we were going to come out there in the second half with the plan to win,'' said Kern. ``It just didn't happen. We missed a lot of shots.''

After rebounding one Viking miss, Allen found a streaking Chewning, whose layup made it 30-24 Byrd with 4:46 left in the third quarter. Both teams turned the ball over on their next possessions before Sarah Moore's layup gave the Terriers a 32-24 lead.

Byrd's Brennan Sigal hit a foul-line jumper to make the score was 44-30. Allen's two fouls shots with :37 left sealed the final margin.

NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.


LENGTH: Medium:   61 lines



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