THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 11, 1996 TAG: 9602080175
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Sports
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: CAMDEN LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Despite a major loss of talent due to injury, the Camden County High School girls basketball team has continued its onslaught of all comers.
As of last week, the team was 13-1 and was ranked third in 1A competition by the Associated Press. Their only loss has been to Edenton during a local Christmas tournament.
The Lady Bruins have had to adjust to the loss of their center, Mindy Meiggs. Meiggs injured her knee in a game against Currituck County and will miss the rest of the season and all of the softball season as well.
``Defensively, it's a big loss, because she was real strong and really knew what was going on,'' said Dianne Overton, Camden head coach. ``She hadn't played as strong offensively as last year, but the season was still young. She did a good job underneath double teaming. We really miss that.''
Replacing Meiggs is freshman Ashley Winslow, who Overton said has played admirably.
``I've been real impressed with her play,'' Overton said. ``She's probably a stronger rebounder than Mindy, mainly due to her height (5-foot-11). I've had to work with her as far as positioning and double teaming. That's just the inexperience in her.''
Overton said that Winslow had 10 of 18 Camden rebounds in a recent game against Perquimans County.
Other Camden starters have been sophomores Sherita Bernard at off guard, Connie Spellman at strong forward, Stacey Thornton at small forward, and of course, Holly Meads, who is averaging 17 points per game, at point guard.
The Lady Bruins have kept winning despite having some bad streaks. In the Perquimans game, Camden trailed 22-7 at the half, but scored 41 points in the second half to send the game into overtime before knocking off the Lady Pirates.
``Holly never scored until midway through the third quarter. We were just cold. We couldn't buy a basket,'' Overton said. ``Finally we went to a full-court press. We stole the ball a few times and got into a running game, and the momentum swung our way.''
Winning under pressure is the sign of a great team, and the Lady Bruins have done just that.
``They seem to play better under pressure. When it really gets that way they seem to do their best,'' Overton said. ``It's been our style, even last year. It hasn't changed. As long as we come out winning, that's all that matters.''
The day after the Perquimans game, Overton had her blood pressure checked by the school nurse. ``It was fine,'' she said. by CNB