ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
A change of presses was equivalent to a change in fortunes for the Pulaski County High School girls' basketball team Tuesday night.
The Cougars' switch from a fullcourt trap to a man-to-man press in the last few minutes of the first half was all it took in their game with host William Fleming. The Colonels crumbled under the pressure and Pulaski County rode the subsequent momentum to a 74-58 Roanoke Valley District victory.
With that, the Cougars (17-1 overall, 8-0 district) clinched the district title and the corresponding berth in the Group AAA Northwest Region tournament.
To reach that point, that Cougars broke loose in the last three minutes of the first half.
At that stage, Fleming (10-6, 4-3) was leading 25-22 and playing with a great deal of emotion. Pulaski County, by contrast, seemed distracted.
``Their speed always gives us a hard time,'' Pulaski County coach Buddy Farris said. ``We were running our regular press at them and going for steals, but were missing because of their speed. Then they'd have us outnumbered at the other end for easy baskets.''
That all changed when the Cougars switched defenses. By that time, the Colonels were down to their third point guard because of fatigue and fouls.
``Pulaski County knew that and stepped up the pressure,'' Colonels coach Cynthia Brown said.
And kept it coming.
``We took them out of their groove and when we saw they couldn't handle it, we kept doing it,'' Pulaski County point guard Lisa Skeens said.
The Colonels didn't have the depth Pulaski County did and it showed as the game wore on.
``Our bench really gave us a spark,'' Pulaski County guard Katrina Williams said.
A blizzard of fouls came as Fleming players were caught out of position defensively. The Cougars took advantage of the 26 Fleming fouls to make 26 of 42 free-throw attempts. Williams made 11-of-15 on the way to a game-high 19 points.
Skeens added 12 and Sarah Donald 10 as 10 Pulaski County players scored. Robyn Bower added eight points as did Mandy Sexton, who left the game in the second half after being popped in the nose.
As for the Colonels, Shauneray Walker scored 17, Renita Walker 16 and Tonia Brown 12.
``Fleming has a very good team and we feel very fortunate any time that we can come down here and win,'' Farris said.
Apparently, there was some leftover business from the last time the teams met.
``We've been hearing from the other teams in the district how [Fleming's players] have been talking about how they were going to beat us,'' Skeens said. ``That got us fired up.''
That and something else.
``We wanted to maintain the momentum going into the Franklin County game and into the tournament,'' Williams said. ``We knew Fleming wanted to do the same thing headed into the tournament.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 63 linesby CNB