THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 12, 1996 TAG: 9601100169
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY BILL LEFFLER, CURRENTS SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
OFTEN BASKETBALL VICTORIES are decided by things that do not show up in the scorebook. .
And that is the ingredient pointed out by Churchland girls coach Duke Conrad when he discusses his undefeated Truckers.
``This is the best passing team I have ever coached,'' said Conrad.
``Most of the players can pass off the dribble. They are excellent bounce passers. Hey, we're even getting no-look passes.
``Sometimes we pass even too much.''
The team's leading scorer, Nicole Council, is averaging nearly eight assists per game.
Council is well on her way to becoming the school's all-time leading female pointmaker. Kizzy Butler set the record a year ago with 1,106 points. Council has 1,037, breaking the coveted 1,000 barrier in a recent victory at Great Bridge.
The win at Great Bridge was the first-ever on the road by a Churchland team coached by Conrad.
``Until last year none of my Churchland teams had ever won at Western Branch and we beat them at home. Tonight, we play at Deep Creek and we've never beaten the Hornets there,'' pointed out the coach.
Undefeated in four league outings and 7-0 overall, the Truckers are the only all-winning team among South Hampton Roads' Group AAA girls teams. Churchland is ranked fourth in the area.
Conrad, whose team is the defending Southeastern District champion and who won earlier district titles while coaching at Wilson, doesn't care to compare this squad with his other teams.
``From my own perspective as a coach, it's hard to gauge this team,'' said Conrad. ``We have a tendency to be a little unpredictable at times. We can be very good if everybody gets on the same page emotionally.
``I will say I feel we have three potential Division I players on this team - Nicole Council, Kim Elliot and Shelly Singleton.
Council is the district's No. 2 scorer and ranks fifth in the area. She sports a 16.1 point average.
``Council can be a big scorer but there's enough balance that she doesn't have to be the big scorer,'' explained Conrad. ``When teams focus only on her, we have other players who can step up their scoring. Nicole is an all-around player.
``Elliot and Singleton are solid players. Shelly is only a sophomore and will be even better as she matures. But she has had four double-double games (10 points, 10 rebounds or more) already and only one sub-par performance in our seven games.''
Adding the Hundley sisters to this group, Conrad feels the Truckers ``can compete with anybody.''
He also believes Churchland has the premier freshman player in the area in Melissa Betts. A 5-9 forward, Betts was an early season starter for the Truckers, but Conrad believes she can play better coming off the bench at this stage of her career.
``Stacey Hundley is the quickest on our fast break,'' added Conrad. ``She is an outstanding defensive player, too. Her sister, Courtney, just does a lot of things that we need to get done. Good teams need players like this.''
Conrad says his team has a special mission in repeating as the Southeastern champion.
``This is the last year for Churchland in the Southeastern District (the team will compete in the Eastern District with the Norfolk schools next year) and we want to go out with back-to-back championships,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Coach Duke Conrad
Nicole Council
by CNB