ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997 TAG: 9703060042
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ANGIE WATTS THE ROANOKE TIMES
PULASKI COUNTY'S girls basketball team has made it to the state Group AAA tournament with a philosophy of collective effort. They'll put their team concept to the test against old rival James Madison on Saturday.
TOGETHER Everyone Accomplishes More.
This poster, familiar to athletes of all team sports, is used to provide motivation in locker rooms and meeting rooms across the country. It hangs on the wall, just inside the door of the Pulaski County girl's basketball locker room. It is the last sign they see before heading to the gym floor; the first one they see upon their return.
And it has apparently worked wonders. The Cougars are a team in every sense of the word. They are a talented bunch, with players sitting on the bench at tip-off that could be starting on many other teams across the area. But you won't hear any complaints, or see any pouting faces on the bench. Instead, you see smiles and hear clapping and cheering, all the way down the line.
"We have a real team concept," Pulaski County coach Buddy Farris said. "We don't look at individuals, because somebody different has a good game each night. Everybody does their part on this team. If someone may not score a lot of points, that's okay, because they may be doing other things great like getting rebound, or steals or just playing good defense. The main thing is they all know they contribute."
Maybe it's because all 11 members of the team play, and not just a few minutes here or there. Every member on the team knows they will have an impact.
They know they are the Cougars' secret weapon.
"Everybody has a share on this ballclub," Farris said. "Just because you're a starter you can't get comfortable in that position because there are always people pushing you. Every person on this team plays in just about every quarter, and that gives them a lot of incentive. If you never get in the ballgame you might not work hard in practice.
"All of these girls know they will play, and that makes a difference. It's a big advantage against other teams because we are so strong in the final quarters."
In the Cougars' past four games - from the Roanoke Valley District Tournament Championship through the Northwest Region Championship - they have outscored their opponents 92-57 in the final eight minutes of play.
"That's been the story all year long, and even last year," Farris said. "We're a good second-half ballclub. We've got so many girls that come off the bench and do a great job for us. We've won a lot of games in the third and fourth quarter mainly because we were fresher."
Pulaski County's only loss this season came at the hands of the James Madison Warhawks, their upcoming opponent in the state quarterfinals. The two teams square off 7 p.m. Saturday at the Radford University's Dedmon Center. The Warhawks beat the Cougars 49-44 in the finals of the Book Jammin' Tournament in December.
"We have all the incentive we need to be ready for this game," Farris said. "They've put us out of the state tournament the past two years, and they are our only defeat this year. You can bet that will get us riled up to play."
Farris said the Cougars didn't run their swarming defensive press on the Warhawks earlier in the year because they were worn down from a three-game road trip. The 44 points scored was the lowest offensive output for Pulaski County this season, Usually, the Cougars average 69 points per game.
"We didn't move well, didn't score well in that game," Farris said. "But even so we led most of the game, up until the fourth quarter when we ran out of gas.
"This team right now... I don't know if we are the best team in the state, but I tell you one thing, these girls when they go out to a game, I don't care who they are playing, they are going to play hard for four quarters.
"There's talk among all the girls - whether they are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior ... they all know this may be the last chance we have to get to the top. There are no guarantees next year, we may not be in this situation again.
"We're going to try not to let it slip by."
LENGTH: Medium: 80 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM THE ROANOKE TIMES. Pulaski's Katrina Williamsby CNBmoves the ball against a GW Danville defender in regional
competition. color.