THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 28, 1995 TAG: 9501280396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
Salem entered Friday's game against top-ranked Kempsville with two objectives.
First, shut down 6-foot-2 center Carrie Johnson, who is the core of an offense that scores 78.5 points per win. Second, set a slow pace so the Chiefs couldn't run away with the game.
But, the Chiefs did just that.
The Sun Devils (12-4, 9-3 Beach) were so focused on Johnson that they forgot about the other four players, allowing Kempsville (16-0, 12-0 Beach) an easy 61-31 win.
``That was our game plan,'' said Salem guard Misty Colebank, who had a game-high 14 points. ``I guess we trying to defend her (Johnson) and forgot about the other players. The team - overall - is very good and I guess we were trying to help the post so much that we let the perimeter players take it to the hoop.''
Though Johnson was a little under the weather and heavily guarded, she still managed a team-high 12 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter when Salem coach Larry Bowman looked to his bench.
``With us playing full court the way we were and them playing solid defense, it makes it more difficult inside,'' Johnson said. ``It's hard to post up when you're tired. It takes a lot of energy.''
But the perimeter had all the energy the Chiefs needed.
Point guard Erin Duckett came through with 11, while Charlette Fayton and Kristen Cholewa chipped in 10 apiece. The guards also put intense man-to-man pressure on Colebank at the handle and held Kelly King, the Sun Devils' top scorer, to just six points.
``I thought we could stay close,'' Bowman said. ``I feel like we didn't play that well, but Kempsville makes you not play well. Misty had 14, but she worked for every one of them. Fayton did a good job on her.''
The Chiefs also did a good job crashing the boards. Kempsville had a 34-10 rebounding advantage.
Bowman pulled his team back court on Salem's free throw attempts so his players could get a breather from the Chiefs' run-and-gun game.
The Chiefs were forced to slow things down in the fourth quarter and went into the locker room with a 27-14 lead. Salem managed to come within four at the end of the first quarter, taking only high-percentage shots. At one point, the Sun Devils ran their motion offense for nearly three minutes.
``We expected that,'' Kempsville coach Greg Dunn said. ``When we run, we're at our best. They executed their offense extremely well, and I thought our defense handled it well. I thought we were very patient defensively. Our positioning was good, and I thought we played a smart game.'' by CNB