THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130517
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATTI WALSH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 41 lines
Princess Anne took advantage of Salem's 21 turnovers and poor shooting for a 68-59 upset in Tuesday's Beach District girls basketball showdown.
The Cavaliers (3-0, 1-0), ranked No. 3 in South Hampton Roads, glided through Salem's press with a series of fast breaks that left the No. 2 Sun Devils (1-3, 0-1) back on their heels.
Salem took a 19-18 first-quarter lead and stayed with Princess Anne until intermission, connecting on 7 of 7 tries from the free-throw line.
But Princess Anne's daunting defense forced the Sun Devils to take high-risk shots that resulted in a 26-percent performance from the floor for the game.
The Cavaliers even managed to hold Salem scoreless for 3:05 of the third quarter as they went on an 18-13 run sparked by Rasheda Rodgers' 12 points.
Rodgers led three Princess Anne players in double figures with a game-high 22 points. Okiesha Howard and Sherry Whetsel chipped in 13 points apiece.
``We came out strong with a positive attitude,'' Rodgers said. ``We've only beat them one time in the last four years, and we wanted to beat them again.
``They stuck with us to the end, but they knew they couldn't outrun us. We took them out of their game by running the court.''
The Sun Devils managed to cut Princess Anne's lead to four with 2:34 to go when Michelle Garcia hit one of her two treys. Garcia then came up with a steal and sent a long pass to Misty Colebank waiting underneath the basket at the 2:20 mark. But a missed layup returned the ball to Princess Anne, which pulled away to win by nine.
``I thought we missed a lot of easy shots around the basket,'' said Salem coach Larry Bowman, whose team faces No. 1 Kempsville on Friday night. ``I think they outhustled us and outquicked us.''
Kelly King led Salem with 15 points. Garcia added 12 and Jenny Harmon chipped in 11. by CNB