THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 3, 1995 TAG: 9502030661
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 72 lines
With only three returning players and a slew of ninth-graders on the roster, Lake Taylor appeared to be in for a miserable season.
But that was before anyone knew about coach Teresa Jones' secret weapons: the Thompson sisters.
Juritus, a freshman point guard who ranks among the area's scoring leaders at 14.3 points per game, struggled as the Titans went 2-7 before their first Eastern District contest. During that time, her sister Natasha was academically ineligible to play.
But Natasha has since passed her needed Passport Test and joined the team just in time to sock it to Eastern District favorite Booker T. Washington.
``That's definitely added some new life to the team,'' said Jones, whose team is unbeaten in the district and ranked tenth in the area. ``It's really sparked us.''
But Juritus and Natasha aren't the only factors in Lake Taylor's surge that includes five victories in its last six games.
Ray Ray Johnson scored 14 points Tuesday in an overtime victory over Maury.
``It's just been a complete team effort,'' Jones said. ``Everyone is contributing and everyone is stepping up on different nights.''
300 WINS: Salem coach Larry Bowman picked up his 300th career victory against Tallwood and became, by far, the area's winningest coach with a 304-114 record that spans 10 years.
That's at least 30 wins a year. Seems impossible when girls only play about 20 games a season. But Bowman averages about 40 games, coaching in both the private and public school leagues since 1985.
He started out doing double-time at Portsmouth Catholic and Green Run and then switched to Salem when it opened. When his tenure at Portsmouth Catholic ended after the 1986 season, Bowman opted to coach at Norfolk Collegiate in the fall, about the same time he became coach of the Sun Devils.
``It's pretty easy to do when you have overlapping seasons,'' said Bowman, whose team won the state Group AAA championship last year.
Pretty easy when you're ``the Master,'' as he is called around the league.
BUZZER BEATER: Last season, Princess Anne coach Brian Miller wanted to forget those last-second shots that cost the Cavaliers the game on more than one occasion.
But this year, he's been more than happy to see the ball circling the rim just as the buzzer sounds.
Twice against First Colonial, Princess Anne's Rasheda Rogers has made a Hail Mary shots that sent her Cavaliers running, hugging and jumping around the gym.
In their first meeting, the Cavaliers upended the Patriots, 74-71, in overtime when Rogers sank a 3-pointer from near midcourt with 2.1 seconds to go.
Amazingly, Rogers found herself in the same position at the end of the second game.She sent it into overtime when she hit again from just inside halfcourt to tie the game at 58. The Cavaliers needed two overtime periods, but eventually beat First Colonial, 74-68.
HAIL TO THE CHIEFS: On paper or on the court, it's easy to see why Kempsville is the area's top-rated team and has South Hampton Roads' best chance of keeping the state title at the Beach.
The Chiefs have scored 1,271 points to the opposition's 650. The closest any team has come was Dec. 3, when Kempsville beat Salem, 58-42. In their last meeting, the Chiefs won by 30.
The Chiefs shoot 43.5 percent from the field and are at 55.2 percent from the line. Charlette Fayton has a team-leading 5.4 steals a game while Carrie Johnson grabs 6.5 boards and blocks 3.5 shots. Point guard Erin Duckett averages only two turnovers per game. Remaining starters Toni Patillo and Kristen Cholewa combine for 9.8 rebounds and five steals. by CNB