THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010633
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 125 lines
This season's Kempsville girls basketball team, with all 14 players returning, is head and shoulders above the rest of the Beach District. But don't count out defending state champ Salem. Sun Devils coach Larry Bowman has a great guard in Misty Colebank and together they could make trouble for the Chiefs.
1993-94 champion: Salem
Predicted order of finish: 1. Kempsville; 2. Salem; 3. First Colonial; 4. Green Run; 5. Cox; 6. Kellam; 7. Bayside; 8. Tallwood; 9. Princess Anne; 10. Ocean Lakes
Team-by-team capsule looks:
KEMPSVILLE
Coach: Greg Dunn (third year, 41-6 record)
Last season: 20-3 overall, 14-2 district (2nd); won district tournament; lost in region quarterfinals.
Impact players: Carrie Johnson, 6-2 senior center; Charlette Fayton, 5-7 junior guard and leading scorer last year; Kristen Chollewa, 5-9 forward; Erin Duckett, 5-7 sophomore point guard; Toni Patillo, 5-7 sophomore guard
Newcomers to watch: None
Outlook: Dunn has only one problem: who to start. He says this team is the most athletic he's coached with a deep bench and outstanding size that goes 6-2, 6-0, 6-0, 5-10, 5-9.
SALEM
Coach: Larry Bowman (sixth year at Salem, 289-110 overall)
Last season: 26-2 overall; 16-0 district (1st); runner-up in district tournament; won region tournament; won state tournament.
Impact players: Misty Colebank, 5-8 junior guard; Kelly King, 5-10 junior forward
Newcomers to watch: Angela Angeles, 5-7 sophomore guard; Amanda Zollicoffer, 5-11 freshman forward; Jenny Harmon, 5-11 freshman forward
Outlook: Despite the loss of Kelly Bradley, one of Tidewater's premier players who's now at Old Dominion, the defending state champs should have a solid lineup led by Colebank, who has been touted as the preseason player of the year.
FIRST COLONIAL
Coach: Sandy Bartle (first year)
Last season: 15-6 overall, 12-4 district (3rd)
Impact players: Katie Waters, 5-8 junior guard; Angela Carmines, 5-10 senior forward; Jamie Kollar, 5-9 senior forward; Kristie Bierman, 5-9 senior forward
Newcomers to watch: Kaszia Campos, 5-7 sophomore guard; Alija Pittenger, 5-8 sophomore forward
Outlook: The well-disciplined Patriots aren't having any problem adjusting to a new system under Bartle. They'll use their speed and emerge as one of the teams to beat at the Beach.
GREEN RUN
Coach: Jim Grigsby (sixth year)
Last season: 11-10 overall, 8-8 district (5th)
Impact players: Jessica Gray, 5-1 senior guard; Kara Grigsby, 5-4 senior guard; Ericka Adams, 5-8 senior forward
Newcomers to watch: Tasha Morrow, 5-1 junior guard from Texas; Amanda James, 5-3 guard up from JV; Dalschon Brown, 6-4 freshman center
Outlook: The seniors must come through in order for the Stallions to be competitive.
COX
Coach: Claire Le Blanc (second year, 53-40 overall)
Last season: 10-9 overall, 7-9 district (6th)
Impact players: Kirsty Hale, 5-3 senior point guard; Shannon Drury, 5-7 junior forward; Carol Parrish, 5-9 senior forward
Newcomer to watch: D'Erica Taylor, 5-10 freshman forward
Outlook: With a small, quick lineup, Le Blanc expects to run the floor and finish in the upper half of the district.
KELLAM
Coach: Steve Strausbaugh (first year)
Last season: 11-8 overall, 9-7 district (4th)
Impact players: Anne Marie Bowdoin, 5-10 senior forward; Shannon Vandelind, 5-10 senior forward; Stephanie Medieros, 5-11 senior forward; Bernadette Hovancik, 5-11 senior forward
Newcomers to watch: Ashliegh Brooks, 5-2 point guard; Hayley Maloney, 5-10 freshman transfer from South Carolina
Outlook: Bowdoin, a first-team All-Tidewater forward, averaged 17.4 points last season and has signed with Liberty. The backcourt is less settled with Brooks, a freshman, starting at the point.
BAYSIDE
Coach: Conrad Parker (sixth year)
Last year: 6-14 overall, 4-12 district (7th)
Impact players: Monica Matthews, 6-2 senior center; Lori Hendricks, 6-0 senior forward; juniors Caroline Zanelli and Dawn Bell
Newcomers to watch: none
Outlook: The Marlins return nine players and should prove to be better than last year's bottom-half finish indicated.
TALLWOOD
Coach: Andrea Warren (first year as head coach)
Last season: 2-18 overall, 2-14 district (8th)
Impact players: Tamara Valentine, 6-2 junior center; Audra Chambers, 5-5 senior guard; Marvita Bradley, 5-8 senior forward
Newcomers to watch: Heather Kinstler, 5-5 sophomore guard; April Green, 5-10 sophomore forward; Amy White, a 5-11 freshman forward who played on Kempsville Middle School's undefeated team last year
Outlook: The Lions, though very young, should be fundamentally sound but not contenders.
PRINCESS ANNE
Coach: Brian Miller (third year as head coach)
Last season: 0-20 overall, 0-16 district (9th)
Impact players: Rasheda Rogers, 5-7 junior guard/forward; Jessie Wran, 5-8 senior guard; Sherry Whetsel, 6-1 junior center
Newcomers to watch: Sisters Suawna Taylor, 5-10 sophomore guard and Stacey Taylor, 5-10 senior forward, transfers from Mississippi; Isha Chaney, sophomore guard from Tennessee
Outlook: The leadership of the veterans along with the influx of transfers should put numbers in the win column this year.
OCEAN LAKES
Coach: Stephanie Gilmore (first year as head coach)
Impact players: Tamika Smith, 5-5 senior guard; Melissa Newby, 5-7 senior forward/guard; Lateesha Green, 5-9 senior center/forward.
Outlook: The first-year program lacks size and experience. The Dolphins will look to the future. ILLUSTRATION: FILE photo
Misty Colebank savored a Salem Group AAA title last season, but the
load will fall squarely on her now.
by CNB