ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 9, 1997 TAG: 9703110035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-10 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RADFORD
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM THE ROANOKE TIMES
The Pulaski County girls' basketball season ends as three others have this decade - with a loss to James Madison.
The James Madison jinx continues for Pulaski County in girls' basketball.
Try as the Cougars might, they couldn't solve the Warhawks' defense and lost 60-39 in a Group AAA girls' basketball game Saturday night at the Dedmon Center.
This is the fourth time this decade James Madison (27-2) has eliminated Pulaski County (23-2) in the state tournament. The Warhawks advance to a state semifinal game in Lynchburg on Thursday against West Springfield.
The Cougars, which lost 49-44 to James Madison in a Christmas tournament, led 36-35 when Mandy Sexton hit a short jumper with 6:45 left.
Pulaski County also had momentum. Trina Williams started the fourth quarter with a steal and a layup that cut the Cougars' deficit to one point. She made another steal, but Lisa Skeens missed a layup. Williams then caused a turnover, but missed a layup that would have given Pulaski County the lead.
Sexton's basket came moments later. James Madison then took a key timeout. When play resumed, the Warhawks went on a 16-0 run that didn't end until Skeens' layup made it 51-38 with 1:18 left. By then it was too late.
``I told them Pulaski County had taken us out of the game, that they had showed more gumption than we had at that moment,'' said Pat Deegan, James Madison's coach. ``We needed to go out and take the floor back.''
It was the third and last time Pulaski County had momentum. The Cougars, as had been the case all night, couldn't get anything going on offense because everything the Warhawks did was geared to making sure Williams and Skeens, the Cougars' guards, didn't beat them.
Each scored seven points. Between them, they made only five of 21 shots.
James Madison used a combination of zone defenses that concentrated on the Cougars' guards. One set brought help from Renee Cosby, who scored game-high 25 points.
``We talked about the key being their guards all week in practice,'' Cosby said. ``We knew if we wanted to win comfortably, we needed to shut Williams and Skeens down.''
Williams felt the zones were the key.
``I thought until the fourth quarter, it was anyone's game,'' she said. ``Our shots weren't falling. But we haven't played well against a zone defense all year long and I don't know why.''
Pulaski County coach Buddy Farris said: ``Both times we've played them, we couldn't penetrate their defense. When you score 44 and 39 points, and that's what we did in two games against them, you won't win.''
The Cougars' presses worked at times, but never consistently. James Madison made five turnovers in the first few minutes of the game and some more turnovers at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Each time, though, a timeout by Deegan got the Warhawks back into sync.
``We hoped our pressure and fast-paced game would offset their height; they adjusted to it,'' Farris said. ``We wanted to wear them out, but we must have been the ones who wore out.''
Cosby was a workhorse as she hit eight of 15 shots. Nicole Jones, in early foul trouble, stayed around and scored 11 points.
Williams, a sophomore, might have a few more chances to end Madison's hex over the Cougars.
``I didn't want it to end this way,'' she said. ``But hey, we were 23-2 and that's not too shabby a year.'' NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY THE ROANOKE TIMES. Pulaski County'sby CNBKatrina Williams (right) strips the ball from James Madison's Renee
Cosby during their game Saturday night in Radford. color.